The legendary former midfielder of Barcelona and Spain, Andrés Iniesta, has confirmed his retirement from football at the age of 40.
Iniesta, who scored the winning goal against the Netherlands in 2010 FIFA World Cup final, burst onto the scene in the early 2000s, establishing himself as a central part of Barcelona’s midfield alongside long-term partner Xavi.
He became one of the best players in the world, thanks to his supreme technical ability, and was rewarded for his talent with endless success at both club and international level.
One four times Champions League and again The League winner with Barcelona, Iniesta won the 2008 European Championship and 2012 with Spain, sandwiched either side of an unforgettable 2010 World Cup campaign that saw him break Dutch hearts with a late winner in overtime.
Many felt his displays at club and international level would carry into 2010 Ballon d’Orbut his Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi beat both Iniesta and Xavi to the award; he also finished third two years later.
Iniesta left Barcelona in 2018 but continued his career in Japan with Vissel Kobe, staying there for five years before joining United Arab Emirates-based Emirates Club for one season.
In an emotional announcement confirming that he is leaving the game, Iniesta said: “I never thought this day would come. I never imagined it. All these tears we have shed these days are tears of emotion, of pride. They are not tears, they are the tears of that boy from Fuentealbilla, who had the dream of being a footballer and we achieved it after a lot of work, sacrifice… of never giving up, essential values in my life.
🚨 Andrés Iniesta has OFFICIALLY retired from football. 🥲
What a player he was. Where does he rank among the greatest midfielders of all time? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/ivhib6VTqJ
— 90min (@90min_Futbol) October 8, 2024
“I feel very proud of this journey, with all the people who have accompanied me.”
He continued: “I feel very happy to have fulfilled my dream. My sports career has been like a fairy tale because I have experienced the best at a professional level. Let’s make it happen. It starts at the track in my village, in school, and with all the trips to Albacete my first steps were there.
“I remember that very happy period. I remember watching Alba in the First Division. Although I never played professionally for Alba, I have always had two teams: Albacete and Barça. My country is in my heart.”
“The trip of my life is Fuentealbilla-Barcelona. I am lucky to have the four people who made that trip with me. My parents, my grandfather and I. It is very nice that today we are together again in a such a special moment. That trip involves everything: work, sacrifice, humility… La Masia changed me forever, it’s the best place I can be to enhance the values you need in life. teachers, colleagues… it is a stage that undoubtedly marked our lives.
“Coming to Barça was a dream, which I focused on fulfilling. That effort, arriving in Barcelona at the age of 12 with all that it meant, could not divert my attention from what I had. I arrived at the best place to fulfill the my dreams ahead of me.”
