Official: Andrés Iniesta leaves Vissel Kobe

Barça and Spanish soccer legend, Andrés Iniesta is about to open a new chapter in his career. This Thursday, the 39-year-old midfielder announced his departure from Vissel Kobe, the Japanese first division club he joined five years ago.

入団から5年間。
クラブに多大なる貢献をしてくれたキャプテンに心からの感謝を！

For five years since joining, we express our heartfelt gratitude to @andresiniesta8 , who has made significant contributions to visselkobe !IniestaKobeForever ❤🤍
ヴィッセル神戸 pic.twitter.com/gF823Q6OOx

— ヴィッセル神戸 (@visselkobe) May 25, 2023

Iniesta will play his last game with Vissel Kobe on July 1 against Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. A few days earlier, on June 6, he will also play a friendly match against Barça and could play a half-time with each team.

Iniesta wants to continue playing soccer

"Coming to Japan, to Kobe and Vissel Kobe, was and will remain one of the best decisions of my life," said Andrés Iniesta, very emotional, during his farewell press conference. He then expressed his "desire to continue playing and fighting on the field. In Japan, Iniesta will have played 113 games of J1 League for 21 goals and 22 assists and won a Japanese Cup and a Japanese Supercup.

"I've been training hard over the last few months and I arrived here with the feeling that I was ready to play matches and contribute to the team. However, I started to feel that our respective paths were starting to diverge and that the coach's priorities were in different places. That was the reality that was given to me and I accepted it with respect. In the end, I decided, in discussion with the club, that the best decision I could make was to leave, based on a combination of my competitive reality and the passion I felt to continue playing," he added.