Iniesta bids farewell to Barcelona pals in Tokyo friendly

Former Barcelona player Andres Iniesta bid farewell to his old teammates as he played for his current Japanese club, Vissel Kobe, in a friendly match against Barcelona at the National Stadium on Tuesday. Despite Iniesta’s efforts, Barcelona emerged victorious with a 2-0 win. Iniesta played for Barcelona for 16 years, participating in 674 games and winning 30 trophies. He also scored the winning goal for Spain in the 2010 World Cup final. Iniesta recently announced his departure from Vissel Kobe after his final match on July 1 in Kobe. Although he has not yet revealed his future plans, the 39-year-old midfielder expressed his desire to continue playing. Barcelona flew directly to Japan after their last Liga match on Sunday and are expected to return by charter after the Kobe friendly. Vissel Kobe is owned by Japanese online retailer Rakuten, which was previously Barcelona’s shirt sponsor. Rakuten is run by Japanese billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani.