Tearful Andrés Iniesta announces retirement after trophy-laden career
Photograph: Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images 9 Oct 2024 - The Guardian Australia Reuters The former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Andrés Iniesta announced his retirement on Tuesday after a trophyladen career spanning 24 years. Iniesta, 40, was at the heart of those midfields during a period of sustained success for both teams in the late-2000s and early-2010s.Andrés Iniesta celebrates Barcelona’s 2009 Champions League final win over Manchester United in Rome. “Please allow me to be a little emotional today …” a tearful Iniesta, who most recently played for Emirates Club in the United Arab Emirates, told a press conference. “I never thought this day would come. I never imagined it. Yes, all these tears we have shed these days are tears of emotion, of pride. They are not tears of sadness. “They are tears of that boy from a small town like Fuentealbilla, who had the dream of being a footballer and we achieved it after a lot of hard work, sacrifice … of never giving up, essenti...