Iniesta Bids Farewell to Glittering Career in Front of 45,000 in Tokyo

AFP-Jiji

9:59 JST, December 16, 2024

TOKYO (AFP-Jiji) — Retiring Spanish football legend Andres Iniesta bid farewell to his playing career Sunday in an exhibition match between Barcelona and Real Madrid greats in Tokyo and will now look to go into coaching.

The 40-year-old announced in October that he was hanging up his boots after a career that saw him win two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup.

He gave a crowd of more than 45,000 fans in Tokyo one last glimpse of the skills that also saw him win nine La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues during his 16 years with Barcelona.

He made sure he went out with a bang, delivering a last-minute cross that the Real Madrid defence turned into their own net to hand Barcelona a 2-1 win.

“I think it was a great game for the Japanese fans,” said Iniesta, who played in Japan for five years after leaving Barcelona in 2018.

“If they went home satisfied then I’m very happy.”

Iniesta lined up alongside former midfield partner Xavi Hernandez, with Rivaldo, Rafael Marquez and Javier Saviola also in the Barcelona line-up.

Roberto Carlos, Fabio Cannavaro and Iker Casillas were among the players in the Real team.

Iniesta said he had “a lot of fun” playing with Xavi, with whom he helped take Barcelona and Spain to new heights.

“Of course neither of us is at the same level that we were before but a lot about the way we used to link up came back to me during today’s game,” said Iniesta.

Iniesta came up through Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy and made his first-team debut aged 18.

He made 674 appearances and won a total of 32 trophies during his time at the Camp Nou.

He moved to Japan’s Vissel Kobe before playing one final season in the United Arab Emirates.

Iniesta said he wanted to stay involved in football.

“I’m thinking about getting my coaching licence and I want to see where my career takes me,” he said.