Why Iniesta was crucial to Barca’s success in ‘tough’ games? Messi’s quote from 2016 says it all

“On the pitch, I like to have him close, above all if the game is strange, tough or rough,” Lionel Messi said of Andres Iniesta in the latter’s autobiography “The Move of My Life”, released in 2016, as quoted by Sport.

“I tell him: ‘Come close, stand by my side’. He grabs the team, drives it, looks for me, gives it to me. He’s a modest person and as a player is magical, everything he does with the ball is amazing.”

Iniesta had spent 16 seasons at Barcelona before leaving the club for the Japanese side Vissel Kobe in 2018. Andres had won every major trophy playing alongside Messi, including nine La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies.

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‘Did Iniesta leave Barca too soon?’: You asked, we answered

Andres Iniesta’s name will forever be etched in Barca history. The gifted Spaniard won everything winnable with Barcelona and left the club on a high.

However, a Barca fan on Reddit adilahmed_305 asked an important question about Iniesta: ” Did Iniesta leave Barca too soon? I was thinking that Iniesta left Barca way too soon considering that he was just 34 when he left and that’s not the age at which you leave Europe. He was performing decently in his last season and showed his magic against Sevilla, in which he was unstoppable. To think that even Modric is still carrying on at 35 and is a key part of Real Madrid midfield and just can’t be benched.”

“Iniesta could have easily carried on at least till this season considering he’s just 36 now.”

Man United star Bruno Fernandes names Andres Iniesta as football idol

Bruno Fernandes has revealed that his footballing idol is former Barcelona star Andres Iniesta.

When asked about his football idol on Twitter, the Man United midfielder tweeted: “Andres Iniesta as player and as a person. Such a legend!”

Iniesta has been a source of inspiration for many thanks to his iconic career at Barca and Pedri also recently stated how glad he was to be compared with the midfielder.

The Spaniard made 674 appearances in his legendary career at Barcelona, scoring 57 goals, registering 139 assists and winning 32 titles with the club.