Former Barcelona midfielder Andrés Iniesta has announced his retirement from football at the age of 40 in a video posted to his social media channels.
The video, captioned with the phrase “the game will go on,” shows Iniesta emotionally discussing what football means to him, before tributes are paid by a number of prominent names including Pep Guardiola, Louis van Gaal and Luis Enrique.
Undoubtedly one of the best midfielder in football history, Iniesta was most recently playing for UAE Pro League club Emirates.
Despite having an option to extend his contract until 2025, the Spanish midfielder has decided to call time on his playing career.
Iniesta famously scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final as Spain lifted the trophy for the first and only time in the country’s history, while he made almost 900 club appearances across spells with Barça, Vissel Kobe and Emirates.
He joined Barça’s academy at the age of 12 in 1996 and went on to make 54 appearances for the club’s B team before breaking into the senior side in 2002.
Iniesta played alongside Barcelona legends like Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernández and Lionel Messi. Their team were regarded among the best in the world and they went on to win numerous Champions Leagues and LaLiga titles.
Andres Iniesta sits on the pitch at the end of his last match for Barcelona and Real Sociedad (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
At international level, Iniesta won 131 caps for Spain and was a key part of the La Roja side that won back-to-back European Championships and the World Cup between 2008 and 2012.
After leaving Barça and retiring from international football, Iniesta went on to spend five years in Japan with Vissel Kobe, winning the J1 League in 2023, before winding down his career at Emirates.
Iniesta Trophy Cabinet
🏆 World Cup
🏆 2x Euro
🏆 4x Champions League
🏆 9x LaLiga
🏆 3x Club World Cup
🏆 3x Super Cup
🏆 6x Copa del Rey
🏆 7x SuperCopa
🏆 1x Japanese Champion
🏆 1x Japanese Cup
🏆 1x Japanese Super Cup
