2023-05-25 09:07:19
BarcelonaAndrés Iniesta says goodbye to Vissel Kobe but, at the age of 39, he does not call the end of his professional career. He announced it, emotional and with tears, in a press conference where he admitted that his end at the Japanese club was not what he had expected. “I think we always imagined that I would retire here, it was everyone’s wish,” he said. Iniesta has admitted that he is leaving because “the coach’s priorities are different”, but he has assured that the decision has been taken “by mutual agreement”. And he made it clear: “I really want to continue playing and competing.” His future, for now, is up in the air.
“I would like to try to finish my career as a footballer playing on a football field and that part is now complicated,” he told the media: “I want to continue playing, I feel I have the ability and the desire to continue playing, but closing this stage we will see what options there may be.” And the inevitable question: is Barça an option? Iniesta has admitted that he would like to return, but he doesn’t think now is the time. “As I have said many times, I would love to return to Barcelona at some point in my life, but I still think it is a long way off.”
I want to continue playing, I feel I have the ability and the desire to continue playing”
“Above all, I hope that Xavi will be a coach for many years, that would be great news for football”, he limited himself to adding about the team he left in 2018. What he did want to emphasize in terms of the future is that, once he hangs up his boots, “the next step will be to be at Vissel in another area”, either as part of the technical or training team of players. The footballer has said that signing for the Japanese club “has been one of the best decisions of his life” despite experiencing “very hard” moments like last season, when the team was in the relegation zone for a large part of the year , or the injury he also suffered last year and which caused him to miss several games.
Among the most positive aspects, on the contrary, the conquest of the Emperor’s Cup title in 2019 has stood out. Both that year and 2021 he was part of the best eleven players in the Japanese league. This season, which started in February, Iniesta has only played 85 minutes in five league and Cup appearances. His former team is the leader of the J-League after fourteen games. “I feel very proud to have helped the club continue to grow,” he concluded.
#Iniesta #excitedly #announces #leaving #Vissel #Kobe #retiring