Spain legend Iniesta to stay at Japan’s Kobe for 2 more years

TOKYO: Spanish football legend Andres Iniesta celebrated his 37th birthday on Tuesday by signing a contract extension that will keep him at J-league side Vissel Kobe for two more years.

The former Barcelona midfield maestro joined Kobe in 2018 in a deal worth a reported $30 million a year and recently recovered from a serious thigh injury.

“I will continue on my quest to make Vissel Kobe a stronger club,” said the World Cup-winning midfielder, speaking through a Japanese translator.

“I am determined to contribute as much as possible to bring this team to a higher level,” he added siting alongside Kobe’s tech-billionaire owner Hiroshi Mikitani.

Iniesta’s debut at Kobe in July 2018 ended with an embarrassing home defeat, but he helped lead the team to their first Japanese Super Cup title in 2020.

Iniesta has enjoyed huge popularity in Japan with analysts estimating he has generated more than $100 million 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 ater a shake-up at the club, Iniesta was sidelined for several months ater 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.

Widelyconsideredoneofthemostgitedmidfielders 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 Championshipwinning side’s of 2008 and 2012.

Iniestawasthedrivingforcebehindfourchampions 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.