Spanish international footballer Andrés Iniesta, scorer of the goal that gave Spain the world title in 2010, officially ended his career this Tuesday, October 8, at the age of 40. “I never expected this day to come, I never imagined it”, said an emotional Iniesta, at a press conference in Barcelona, where the midfielder ended a journey that lasted more than 20 years as a footballer.
Iniesta, who was considered one of the best players in the world and was part of the “fantastic” FC Barcelona team, in the middle of the field with Xavi Hernández and Sérgio Busquets, completed before Lionel Messi, spoke about his dream achieve “All the tears in the last few days are emotions, pride, they are not tears of sadness. They are the tears of this child who had the dream of becoming a football player and succeeded after a lot of work, effort do. and sacrifice”, he said.
The midfielder, with huge achievements, with a world title, two European titles (2008 and 2012) and four Champions Leagues, among other trophies, stood out in the national team and at the service of his old club, FC Barcelona, i. who competed from children to the elderly.
“One of the most magical teammates I’ve had and one of the ones I enjoyed playing with the most,” highlighted the Argentinian Lionel Messi on the social network Instagram. In the same publication, Messi spoke directly to Iniesta: “You will miss the ball, and so will we. I wish you the best, you are great.”
At “Barça”, Iniesta spent 22 years, until he left in 2018 to play, in the last stretch of his career, for the Japanese club Vissel Kobe. In Japan, he spent six seasons, before representing the third and final club of his career, the Emirates Club (United Arab Emirates), in 2023/24.
At the farewell conference this Tuesday, Iniesta was accompanied by his family, as well as the directors of FC Barcelona and members of the current technical team, including the German coach Hansi Flick.