Iniesta helped Kobe to their first Japanese Super Cup title in 2020. Iniesta has enjoyed huge popularity in Japan with analysts estimating he has generated more than $100mn in ticket sales and merchandising revenue.
He has appeared in TV commercials for Japanese sake and mobile phone services. Named Kobe’s captain in April 2019 after a shake-up at the club, Iniesta was sidelined for several months after he suffered a ruptured tendon in his right thigh last December.
Following surgery in Barcelona, he was back training in April before returning to action in the J-League this month. Widely considered one of the most gifted midfielders of all time, he scored the winning goal as Spain won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and he was a key member of the European Championship-winning side’s of 2008 and 2012.
Iniesta was the driving force behind four Champions League wins with Barcelona and helped the Catalan club secure domestic trebles in 2009 and 2015. He also won nine La Liga titles, two European Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups, leaving Barcelona as the most decorated Spanish player of all time, with more than 30 trophies for club and country. His decision to join Kobe after 22 years at Barcelona, 16 of them as a first team player, was seen as a coup for Japanese football, which had been struggling to attract big names tempted by cash-rich Chinese clubs in the twilight of their careers.
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