Spain and Barcelona great Iniesta announces retirement after 22-year career

Andr s Iniesta, who scored Spain s World Cup winning goal in 2010 and was one of the key players who made Barcelona s tiki taka thrive for so long, an...

Andrés Iniesta, who scored Spain's World Cup-winning goal in 2010 and was one of the key players who made Barcelona's tiki-taka thrive for so long, announced his retirement from soccer on Tuesday.

The 40-year-old Iniesta ended a 22-year career that also included two European Championship titles and four Champions Leagues trophies.

"I never expected that this day would come, I never imagined it,” an emotional Iniesta said at a ceremony in Barcelona. "But all the tears from the last few days are tears of emotion, or pride, they are not tears of sadness. They are tears of this kid who had the dream of being a soccer player and who succeeded after a lot of hard work, effort and sacrifice.”

Since leaving Barcelona in 2018, he had been playing with Vissel Kobe in Japan, and for the last year with club Emirates in the UAE Pro League. Iniesta made his first-team debut with Barcelona in 2002, and appeared 674 times.

Known for his unique ball control and above-average playmaking ability, Iniesta helped anchor a Barcelona midfield that also included Xavi Hernández and Sergio Busquets - in addition to Lionel Messi in attack - in a squad that thrived for many years with an enchanting and effective ball-possession style that became known as the tiki-taka.