Marco Bustos bid a fond farewell Wednesday on social media to Island soccer fans, saying: “I hope I left my mark on the people of Vancouver Island as much as you have left a mark on me.”
Bustos confirmed weeks-long speculation that he is leaving Pacific FC.
“It’s always difficult to put feelings into words, especially when those feelings stem from a place I called home for the last three years,” Bustos posted on Twitter.
“Not only did we make history by winning the club’s first championship but I evolved on a personal level as well. Thank you to the best fans in the league and the people of Vancouver Island for the endless love and support. I hope one day our paths will meet again. Until then, I will be a Trident cheering from afar.”
Just where that afar will be hasn’t been announced but reporter John Jacques of the Northern Tribune soccer website wrote that it will likely be to Swedish top-flight side IFK Varnamo.
PFC tweeted Wednesday night that Bustos will forever be a Trident: “We wish Marco Bustos all the best as he leaves Pacific FC. Marco has brought a tremendous amount of dedication and excitement to the club throughout his time here. His passion and personality will be missed, thank you for everything #10.”
The attacking midfielder is the consensus greatest player in PFC history. In his four-season Canadian Premier League career, the first with his hometown Valour FC of Winnipeg and the past three seasons with the Tridents, the daring and darting five-foot-six Bustos gained 23 goals and 20 assists in 90 games with an uncanny sense of finding seams and space seemingly out of nowhere.
A highlight was lifting the North Star Shield as CPL champion with Pacific FC in an otherwise personally difficult 2021 season. An MCL tear limited Bustos to 17 games that season, in which he was well on his way to the CPL MVP award with seven goals and six assists before going down and missing a good portion of the year, before returning near the end.
Bustos’ reputation hardly suffered and he had a trial in November with Toronto FC of Major League Soccer.
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