On Saturday, the legendary Spanish football player Andres Iniesta competed in his final match for the Japanese club Vissel Kobe. Iniesta is getting ready to continue his famous career with another team.
In Kobe’s 1-1 home tie with Consadole Sapporo in the J-League, the 39-year-old player started the game in the middle of the field while wearing the captain’s armband. He played the opening 57 minutes of the game.
Before joining Kobe in 2018, Iniesta played with Barcelona for nearly 600 games, during which time he was crowned champion of La Liga nine times and the Champions League four times.
He has stated that he plans to continue playing, but he has not disclosed what his next step would be at this time.
On Saturday, in the 36th minute of play, he made his way into the penalty area and made an attempt to score a goal, which was met with applause from the audience.
However, his replacement came 12 minutes into the second half, when his side was already behind by one goal.
A supporter tweeted, “Thank you Iniesta for playing for Vissel Kobe for many years,” as the Spanish player was leaving the field and heading to the bench.
Another supporter wrote, “Iniesta, thank you so much for making it to Japan.”
Immediately following the blowing of the final whistle, an applauding spectator was observed with a banner that said “Gracias Iniesta.”
Iniesta first signed with Kobe on a contract that was for three years and reportedly had an annual salary of $30 million. He renewed this contract in May 2021.
In 2019, he was victorious in the Emperor’s Cup competition held within Japan, and in 2020, he guided Vissel to the semifinals of the Asian Champions League.
However, the team has not made much use of him this season. In May, he explained that he wanted to leave Kobe so that he could “retire while I’m still active.” As a result, the club has not utilized him very often.
After playing for Kobe in a friendly match against Barcelona in Tokyo the previous month, he embraced his boss and former teammate on the midfield, Xavi, as he exited the field after the match.
Iniesta, who is widely regarded as one of the finest players of his time, has been connected with a job at Barcelona that does not include him playing the game.