Barca legend Iniesta joins Japan’s Vissel Kobe
TOKYO: Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta joined Japan’s Vissel Kobe yesterday, the club’s owner Hiroshi Mikitani. said
“I am pleased to announce today (Thursday) that Andres Iniesta will play with Vissel Kobe after his historic career at FC Barcelona,” Mikitani told reporters in Tokyo.
The 34-year-old Spanish World Cup winner, who lifted 32 major trophies and made 674 appearances for Catalan giants Barca was unveiled by Vissel at a glitzy news conference in Tokyo.
“This is a very special day for me. This is a very important challenge for my career,” said Iniesta, who is set to pocket an estimated annual salary of $30 million (RM120 million).
“The J-League will hopefully spread in Asia. I’d like to help with that,” added Iniesta.
The Spain legend’s decision to choose Kobe arguably represents Japanese football’s biggest transfer coup, with many top players now moving to cash-rich Chinese clubs in the twilight of their careers.
It also comes as a timely boost to the J-League, which used to attract luminaries such as Brazilian great Zico and former England star Gary Lineker when it began in 1993 but has struggled to attract marquee players in recent years.
Iniesta will join former Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski in the western Japanese port city after the German completed a move from Galatasaray last summer.
Danish legend Michael Laudrup, himself a former Barcelona fan favourite and one of Iniesta’s boyhood heroes, also played for Vissel in 1996-97.
Kobe currently sit sixth in the J-League first division standings after 15 games, having finished ninth in the table last term.
Mikitani is a billionaire businessman, founder and CEO of Rakuten, Barcelona’s main sponsor, and was heavily in involved in the deal that brought Iniesta to Japan.
Iniesta announced last month that he would be leaving Barca at the end of the season, bringing to an end a 22-year association with the club.
He is still going to play for Spain in this summer’s World Cup in Russia before likely ending his international career.