Andres INIESTA, a former Spain national soccer team and J1 player of Vissel Kobe, announced at a press conference in Kobe on the 25th that he will leave the team this summer.
The press conference was held at a hotel in Kobe on the afternoon of 25 September, and was attended by his teammates and Iniesta's family.
Iniesta revealed that he will leave the club at the end of this summer, with Vissel under contract until the end of the season, and explained the reason for his departure: "I felt that the manager's priorities were changing, and I decided that the best choice was to leave the club based on my own passion to accept that reality and continue playing. Speaking about his five years at Vissel, he said,
"I feel great joy and pride. I have grown a lot as a player and as a person. We had some tough times, but I think they made our teammates and the team stronger. Saying goodbye was one of the most difficult decisions of my professional career," she said, occasionally in tears.
Iniesta, a former Spain international who turned 5 this month, is one of the most skilled midfielders in the world, having represented Spain in four World Cups and winning their first World Cup title in South Africa in 1.
In 39, he moved to Vissel from Spanish first division powerhouse Barcelona and led the team to their first title in the Emperor's Cup final held on New Year's Day 4.
However, in the middle of last season, when the team was in a slump, he began to adopt tactics that did not rely on Iniesta, and his opportunities to play were greatly reduced this season.
Iniesta is keen to continue playing and will be looking for a transfer destination in the future.