Spain and Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta will retire from professional football at 40.
The midfielder, considered one of the most influential midfielders in football history, will formally announce his decision in a ceremony on October 8.
A product of Barcelona’s famous academy, ‘La Masia’, Iniesta featured 674 times for the senior team, scoring 57 goals and bagging 135 assists for the Blaugranas.
He has 131 caps for the Spanish national team and is best known for scoring the World Cup-winning goal against the Netherlands in the final of the 2010 edition in South Africa. Iniesta, fondly known as ‘Don Andres’, scored 13 goals in national colours.
After his 22-year-old career with Barcelona, Iniesta moved to Japan to play for J-League side Vissel Kobe, for which he played 134 matches, scoring 26 goals and bagging 25 assists.
