• Interview The Calvary (unknown) of Andrés Iniesta: "When I started jogging, tears fell from my eyes. It was like coming back to life."
  • Wish Iniesta: "I would love to return to Barça"

The Spanish footballer Andrés Iniesta announced today that he is leaving Vissel Kobe of the Japanese league "by mutual agreement", and pointed out that he will continue his professional career in another destination.

"I think we had always imagined that I would retire here, it was everyone's wish," Iniesta said through tears at a press conference in Kobe (western Japan) with Vissel owner Hiroshi Mikitani.

Iniesta said he still wants to "keep playing" and "keep competing", and said that the decision to leave has been "by mutual agreement" with the club, after assuming "that the coach's priorities are different" and having little prominence with his team this season.

The footballer began his appearance by saying that coming to Japan "has been one of the best decisions of his life", and admitted that he has lived "very nice moments" with his club, but also "other very hard" like last season, in which the team was much of the year in relegation positions.

Among the positives, he highlighted the conquest of the 2019 Emperor's Cup title, and among the negatives he pointed out the injury he suffered last year and that made him miss several games.

"I've continued to work very hard, I've felt very good," Iniesta said of the past few months.

This season of the Japanese league, which started last February, Iniesta accumulates only 85 minutes in five appearances in League and Cup. His team is leading the J-League after 14 rounds played.

"I would like to try to finish my career as a footballer playing on a football field, and that part is now being complicated," Iniesta said when asked by the media about his future.

"I do not know, I want to continue playing, I feel with the ability and the illusion to continue doing so, but closing this stage we will see what options there may be," said the La Mancha midfielder.

"I feel very proud of this step, of having helped this club to continue growing," said Iniesta, who thanked his club and what has been his fans until now.

The former FC Barcelona player, world champion and double European champion with La Roja, received a bouquet of flowers from his teammates and posed with them before the cameras after the appearance, which was also attended by his wife and children.

  • Andres Iniesta
  • Japan

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