Barcelona legend, Andres Iniesta has come out to announce his retirement from professional football at the age of 40. He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and fans have been reacting.
According to him, he never thought the day he would retire from football would come, but he can confidently say he achieved everything he wanted in the sport.
Iniesta added that he feels very proud of the path he chose, and playing for Barcelona was a dream.
His words, “I never thought this day would come, but all these tears these days are tears of emotion, of pride. They are not of sadness. They are tears of that child from Fuentealbilla who had the dream of being a footballer. And I achieved it, we achieved it. With a lot of sacrifice and a lot of effort. And never giving up. Essential values in my life. I feel very proud of that path. I feel very happy to achieve the prize, the dream, of being a footballer.
For me, coming to Barça was a dream and I focused on fulfilling it. I couldn’t divert my focus from what I wanted and getting to the best possible place to achieve all the dreams I had ahead of me.”
WOW.
Futbol Club Barcelona, commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça, is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German, and English footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto “Més que un club” (“More than a club”). Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona.
There is often a fierce rivalry between the two strongest teams in a national league, and this is particularly the case in La Liga, where the game between Barcelona and Real Madrid is known as “The Classic” (El Clásico).
From the start of national competitions the clubs were seen as representatives of two rival regions in Spain: Catalonia and Castile, as well as of the two cities. The rivalry reflects what many regard as the political and cultural tensions felt between Catalans and the Castilians, seen by one author as a re-enactment of the Spanish Civil War. Over the years, the head-to-head record between the two clubs is 102 victories for Madrid, 100 victories for Barcelona, and 52 draws.
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