Andres Iniesta joins J.League club Vissel Kobe

Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta’s move to J.League club Vissel Kobe was confirmed on Thursday at a specially arranged news conference in Tokyo.

Iniesta, 34, played his final game for Barcelona in Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad, leaving LaLiga’s champions after 16 trophy-laden seasons.

The star playmaker was heavily linked with a move to the Chinese Super League – Chongqing Lifan were widely viewed as the frontrunners – and Australia was also mooted as a possible destination.

But Vissel Kobe, whose club chairman Hiroshi Mikitani is also the chief executive of Japanese electronics company and Barcelona shirt sponsor Rakuten, have got their man.