The former midfielder playsč Barcelona and the Spanish national football team, 40-year-old Andres Iniesta, announced on Tuesday the end of his playing career after 24 years filled with trophies. Iniesta was one of the key players in Spain and Barcelona’s midfield during periods of sustained success for both teams in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
– Please allow me to be a little emotional today – a tearful Iniesta, who recently played for the Emirates Club in the United Arab Emirates, said at the press conference.
– I never thought this day would come. I never imagined it. Yes, all these tears we have shed these days are tears of emotion, of pride. These are not tears of sadness. These are the tears of that boy from a small town like Fuentealbilla, who dreamed of becoming a soccer player and we achieved it after a lot of hard work, sacrifice… never giving up, essential values in my life. I feel very proud of this journey, with all the people who followed me – said Iniesta.
He played 131 games and scored 13 goals for the Spanish national team, and was the scorer of the only goal in the 2010 World Cup final, which brought his country victory over the Netherlands and the first world championship title. He also played a key role in Spain’s triumph at the European Championship in 2008, and was named the best player of Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, when the Spanish defended their title.
Born in the small village of Fuentealbilla, less than an hour’s drive southeast of the capital Madrid, Iniesta joined Barcelona’s La Masia youth academy at the age of 12 and went on to make 674 appearances for the Catalan side, including three season was captain. A year before he became Spain’s hero at the World Cup final, Iniesta did something similar for Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final against Chelsea. His brilliant strike deep into extra time secured Barca a place in the Champions League final where they won the trophy, the first of Pep Guardiola’s coaching career in Europe’s elite competition.
Iniesta won nine Spanish league titles with Barcelona, čhe triumphed in the Champions League four times, and has won six Spanish Copa del Reys, two UEFA Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups. He won many of them in tandem with Xavi Hernandez, along with Iniesta the best Spanish footballer of all time.
– One of the most versatile teammates and one of the ones I enjoyed playing with the most, Andres Iniesta, the ball misses you, and so do we! “I wish you all the best, you are a phenomenon,” wrote Iniesta’s former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi on social media.
Iniesta won second place (behind Messi) in the order for the Ballon d’Or in 2010, and in 2018 he left Barcelona for Japan, where he continued his career playing for Vissel Kobe until 2023, when he moved to the Emirates, the last club in his brilliant career.