One of the songs that hit the charts worldwide in the mid-80s was ‘Big in Japan’ by the German-based pop-synth band ‘Alphaville’. In it, they say ‘things are easy when you’re big in Japan’… However, it seems that things have significantly changed in the Far East in the meantime, as one really exquisite player and big football name is struggling to stay afloat.Iniesta faces relegation for the first time in his careerThat’s why former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta will leave Vissel Kobe after five years at the Japanese club.The 39-year-old will play his final match for the side on 1 July, midway through the J-League season, the player announced on Thursday.##NAJAVA_MECA_7277163##Iniesta, who has made just three substitute appearances so far this season for league leaders Vissel, has no plans to retire immediately whatsoever, despite his age.”I want to finish my time here properly and then see what options are available to me,” he said.”I want to keep playing and then retire while I’m still active. That’s difficult for me to do here, so I want to find a place where I can eventually retire.”🚨 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟! Andrés Iniesta will leave Vissel Kobe after 5 years in Japan! 👋🏻🇯🇵🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/UBRLpnSQ8R— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) May 25, 2023 Iniesta joined Vissel in 2018 and has made 133 appearances for the club, winning Japan’s domestic Emperor’s Cup in 2019 and the Japanese Super Cup the following year.That followed a 22-year career at Barcelona, where he won 32 trophies in 674 senior appearances.He said choosing to leave Vissel was “one of the hardest decisions of his career”.
