Legend of the game Andres Iniesta aged 40, set to retire on October 8

Andres Iniesta set to call it a day as a player in football as rumors of reconciliation with Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets gets squashed.

Andres Iniesta, image courtesy: X

Iconic Spanish midfielder, Andres Iniesta is all set to call it a day from all forms of football after a journey to savor for an eternity. Iniesta is currently plying his trade for the Emirates Club in UAE. He arrived in the Middle-East after being a part of Japan’ s Vissel Kobe for five years. He joined the Japanese stalwarts in 2019 after a memorable season for Barcelona.

Andres Iniesta who graduated from the famous La Masia academy of Barcelona alongside the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Sergio Busquets, made 674 appearances for the Catalan giants. His presence in the side propelled the club to nine La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League titles. As reported by Relevo, the gilded Spanish superstar is all set to retire on October 8^th, a date that will mete out justice to his jersey number.

There were talks going on about the reconciliation of Iniesta with his former Barcelona teammates Messi and Busquets at Inter Miami. However as per Relevo, Iniesta will play no further part in the yard as the player that he is. He has expressed his interest in coaching and will be going through the lessons and eventually may eye to return to Catalonia as the coach. He has also formerly stated that he wants to return to Barcelona but the exact specifications are still to be clear for him.

FS Video

🚨🇪🇸 Andrés Iniesta has decided to retire from professional football.

It will be announced on October 8, his number since day one — as @relevo reported.

Legend of the game. Don Andrés. ❤️‍🩹🪄 pic.twitter.com/02loVWTQ19
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 1, 2024

Iniesta started his career for Barcelona and played for the club in La Liga for a staggering 16 years, featuring in 442 matches while scoring 35 goals. Apart from that he also played in 114 matches for Vissel Kobe from which he knitted 21 goals. His credentials for the international team are equally incredible as he was the one to slam the World Cup winning goal for Spain against Netherlands in the 2010 FIFA World Cup final.

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Andres Iniesta holds an unique world record in football

Iniesta’s credentials have always been incredible ones and the kind of force that he has proven himself to be for Spain, will never be forgotten. One of the key components of the tiki-taka style of play, Iniesta is the only player in history to have been awarded the Player of the Match in the World Cup final, in the UEFA Champions League final and the Euros final.

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The everlasting legacy that will be left behind by Iniesta will be inspiring generations of midfielders. Not only has he set the bar extremely high but the kind of football laced with leadership that he brought to the platter, was simply mind-blowing. Emirates Club will be playing their next match against Al Arabi on Sunday.