Iniesta to leave Barcelona at the end of the season

AndresIniesta confirmed yesterday he will leave Barcelona at the end of theseason, bringing the curtain down on a phenomenally successful career atthe club, but said a move to China is yet to be finalised. In a pressconference attended by members of the first team and the club’s board,Iniesta said he wanted to finish at Barca “feeling useful, feelingimportant and still winning titles”.Iniesta is expected to continuehis career at a club in the Chinese Super League but remainedtight-lipped on his next destination. The 33-year-old revealed only thatit will be outside Europe, reiterating he would never play againstBarcelona. After joining Barca’s academy, La Masia, aged 12, Iniestablossomed into one of the Catalans’ greatest ever players, winning fourChampions League and eight La Liga titles, and lifting the World Cupwith Spain. Struggling to hold back the tears, Iniesta said: “Iunderstand that in the near future I will not be able to give the bestof myself in all senses, both physically and mentally.“If I hadimagined finishing my career here, it would have been like this, feelinguseful, feeling important and still winning titles. It’s a verydifficult day for me because I’ve been here all my life and to saygoodbye to my home and my life here is very hard.”Iniesta’s shortspeech was greeted by applause and the congratulations are likely tocontinue tomorrow, when he can collect his ninth La Liga title.Barcelona need only a point against Deportivo La Coruna to be crownedchampions. It would secure a domestic double in Iniesta’s farewellcampaign, after a thumping win over Sevilla clinched the Copa del Reylast weekend. Iniesta capped a typically elegant performance at theWanda Metropolitano with a wonderful finish, shimmying past goalkeeperDavid Soria and tapping in his 57th club goal, on his 669th appearance.He would not be short of suitors this summer among the world’s eliteclubs but Iniesta, who already has an offer from China, will not bestaying in Europe. “There are things to talk about, things to finalise,”Iniesta said. “The only thing I have always said is I would nevercompete against my club so all scenarios that are not in Europe arepossible.”Among those likely to be disappointed is Iniesta’s formercoach Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, who has reportedly tried to pushthe merits of a move to England. Guardiola’s Barca team, which won LaLiga three times in a row between 2009 and 2011, as well as theChampions League twice, enjoyed Iniesta at his mesmorising best. Duringthat period, Iniesta became the poster-boy for fluid, possession-basedfootball, for which this decade of Spanish dominance will be foreverremembered. He would have won the Ballon d´Or in 2010 but finishedsecond to Lionel Messi. “To play with Messi has been and still is anhonour and a privilege,” Iniesta said. “To share with him so manymagical moments is a privilege because I understand there is no otherplayer like him. As a teammate and a footballer, being so close to himhas been unique and magical.”A glorious farewell with the Spanishnational team is also possible at the World Cup this summer, after whichIniesta is expected to call time on an international career that hasincluded winning the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, betweenconsecutive successes at the European Championships in 2008 and 2012.Iniesta’ssuccession will not be easy, particularly for Barcelona, whose original‘tika-takas’ are now down to Messi, 30, Sergio Busquets, 29, and GerardPique, 31. It is hoped Philippe Coutinho, bought from Liverpool for160mn euros in January, can help fill the void.Asked how he wouldlike to be remembered, Iniesta said: “It’s easy, I want to be rememberedas a great football player and a great person. I’ve wanted to representthis club in the best possible way and I hope I have achieved it.”Iniesta’s Barcelona career in numbersIniestawas handed his Barca debut by Louis van Gaal, aged 18, in October 2002against Club Brugge in the Champions League, and has since gone on tobecome one of the club’s greatest players. Here we look at the keystatistics from his time at Barcelona, ahead of tomorrow’s La Liga matchagainst Deportivo La Coruna.Age: 33 Seasons: 16 Appearances: 669 Goals: 57 Champions League appearances: 132 Champions League titles: 4 (2005-06, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2014-15) La Liga titles: 8 (2004-05, 2005-06, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16) Copa del Rey: 6 (2008-09, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18) UEFA Teams of the Year: 6 (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016) Best Ballon d’Or result: 2nd (2010)Managersplayed under: 8 (Louis van Gaal, Radomir Antic, Frank Rijkaard, PepGuardiola, Tito Vilanova, Gerardo Martino, Luis Enrique, ErnestoValverde)