Iniesta announces his departure from Japan’s Vissel Kobe

Japanese player Vissel Kobe, Spain’s Andres Iniesta, announced Thursday that he will leave his team before the end of his contract, stressing that he does not know where his next destination will be, but he ruled out retirement.

“First I want to finish my time here well and then see what options are available to me,” Iniesta told reporters.

He explained that he wanted to continue playing and then retire, pointing out that he was still active in the stadiums.

He continued: “It’s difficult for me here, so I want to find a place where I can finally retire.”

Iniesta played only 3 matches this season with his team, Japan, as a substitute, with a total of 38 minutes.

It is noteworthy that the Spanish player had joined the Vissel Kobe team in 2018 after 16 years spent in the Barcelona first team, with which he won the European Champions League four times and the Spanish League on nine occasions, before moving to Japan and achieving in 2019 the Emperor’s Cup title with Vissel. He also won the 2020 Japanese Super Cup.