Andrés Iniesta is officially no longer a professional footballer since he hung up his boots on Tuesday. Since last season, the Spanish midfielder has worn the colors of the Emirates Club (Emirati first division), after spending six years in Japan, at Vissel Kobe.
But it is obviously at FC Barcelona, the club where he was trained, that the Iberian international spent the majority of his career. With the Blaugrana, he notably won the Champions League four times (2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015) and the La Liga nine times. A team in which he saw the emergence of Lionel Messi, a player with whom he played for almost fifteen years.
Messi pays tribute to his best passer
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner also wanted to pay tribute to him.
“One of the teammates with the most magic. He is one of those I enjoyed playing with the most. Andrés Iniesta, football will miss you and so will we! I always wish you the best, you are a phenomenon”wrote “La Pulga” in an Instagram story.
In the national team, Iniesta had already hung up his boots in 2018, after the elimination of Spain in the round of 16 of the World Cup in Russia, by the organizing country. Iniesta is to date the fourth most capped player at La Roja, behind Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos and Xavi.
