BARCELONA — Andres Iniesta has confirmed he will leave Barcelona at the end of the season after 22 years associated with the club.
In a press conference attended by members of the first team and the club’s board Friday, Iniesta said he wanted to finish at Barca “feeling useful, feeling important and still winning titles”.
Iniesta is expected to continue his career in China but says his next move is yet to be finalized. The 33-year-old reiterated, however, he would never play against Barcelona.
After joining Barca’s academy, La Masia, aged 12, Iniesta blossomed into one of the Catalans’ greatest ever players, winning four Champions League and eight La Liga titles, and lifting the World Cup with Spain.
Struggling to hold back the tears, Iniesta said: “I understand that in the near future I will not be able to give the best of myself in all senses, both physically and mentally.
“If I had imagined finishing my career here, it would have been like this, feeling useful, feeling important and still winning titles.
“It’s a very difficult day for me because I’ve been here all my life and to say goodbye to my home and my life here is very hard.”
Iniesta’s short speech was greeted by applause and the congratulations are likely to continue Sunday, when he can collect his ninth La Liga title. Barcelona needs only a point against Deportivo La Coruna to be crowned champion.
It would secure a domestic double in Iniesta´s farewell campaign, after a thumping win over Sevilla clinched the Copa del Rey last weekend.
In what was his last cup final with Barca, Iniesta capped a typically elegant performance at the Wanda Metropolitano with a wonderful finish, shimmying past goalkeeper David Soria and tapping in his 57th club goal, on his 669th appearance.
He would not be short of offers this summer from the world’s elite clubs but Iniesta said that to avoid facing Barca, he will not be staying in Europe.
PSG coach Emery to leave
Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery said Friday he will leave the French club at the end of the campaign after Champions League failures in both his seasons in charge.
Emery, whose contract ends in June, said he met with PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi and sporting director Antero Henrique and “we decided that we would not continue to work together”.
“I’ve told the players,” Emery said at a press conference Friday ahead of the league match against Guingamp Sunday.
The Spaniard arrived having achieved continental success, winning the Europa League three times with Sevilla.
Despite spending 400 million euros ($483 million) on Neymar and Kylian Mbappe alone — the two most expensive transfer deals in history — last summer, PSG was eliminated in the last 16 of the Champions League for a second straight year.
Those defeats to Barcelona, last season, and Real Madrid, this time, suggested that Qatari-backed PSG was not closing the gap on Europe’s elite.
Under Emery, PSG lost their French title to Monaco, before regaining it this season. The club won the French League Cup both seasons. It took the French Cup in 2017 and is back in the final this year where it faces third division Les Herbiers on May 8.
The German Thomas Tuchel, without a club since his tumultuous departure from Borussia Dortmund in May 2017, is seen as the favorite to succeed Emery by French sports media. — Agencies
