Ex-Barcelona and Spain great Iniesta retires aged 40

BARCELONA: Former Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta, who won two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup with an all-conquering Spain team, announced his retirement from football on Tuesday at the age of 40.

“Being on the pitch is over,” a visibly emotional Iniesta told reporters at a news conference in Barcelona while reflecting on a professional career that began with the Catalan giants in 2002. “I can´t stay away from football, it´s my life and will continue to be my life. Now I need to continue educating myself, I´m in the process of doing my coaching diploma and that´s the next step.”

“I will try to come back and do a great job. However it won´t be running after the ball, but from another place,” he added. Iniesta came up through Barcelona´s famed La Masia academy and made his first-team debut aged just 18, becoming a mainstay in the midfield before his departure 16 years later after 674 appearances.

He won nine La Liga titles and the Champions League four times with Barcelona, also lifting six Copas del Rey in a haul of 32 trophies during his time at Camp Nou. Iniesta formed a devastating midfield with Xavi Hernandez and Sergio Busquets, becoming the standard-bearers of the “tiki-taka” style of football that catapulted both club and country to new heights. He played alongside the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar, Samuel Eto´o and Luis Suarez for Barcelona, who captured the treble in 2009 under Pep Guardiola and again six years later with Luis Enrique in charge.