Lionel Messi DENIED Barcelona reunion
Tom Hancock
- 8 Aug 2023 12:26 BST
- 3 min read
Lionel Messi won’t be lining up alongside yet another of his ex-Barcelona teammates for Inter Miami, after Andres Iniesta signed for UAE Pro League outfit Emirates Club.
The Barca and Spain icon, 39, had been touted for a move to Miami, where Messi has already been joined by former Blaugrana colleagues Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
But, like so many big names this summer, Iniesta has opted to head to the Gulf (albeit not to Saudi Arabia) – having spent the last five seasons with Vissel Kobe in Japan.
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Iniesta – who famously scored Spain’s winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final – has penned a one-year deal with Emirates Club, with the option to extend his stay until the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
The legendary midfielder left Barcelona back in 2018, after making 674 appearances for the Catalan giants – with whom he won no fewer than 19 major trophies, including the Champions League on four occasions.
He also helped Spain to glory at the two European Championships either side of their 2010 World Cup triumph.
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A new adventure for Iniesta
Iniesta joins Emirates Club after seeing his playing time severely restricted for Kobe last term: he featured for just 94 minutes in total.
Speaking before his final match for the J-League team last month, he said: “There was difficulty in not being picked to play after putting my heart into training. I’ve experienced a lot of things over these five years, which is a long time.”
Emirates Club are back in the UAE Pro League after finishing as runners-up in the second tier last season.
Their squad is made up predominantly of Emirati players, with Iniesta becoming the third European member.
