FORMER Barcelona FC midfielder Andrés Iniesta has now officially signed up with Japan's Vissel Kobe, and hundreds of reporters from around the globe flocked to his presentation yesterday (Thursday) in Tokyo.
Iniesta, commonly considered to be one of the world's greatest players, bid an emotional farewell to Barça team-mates and fans on Sunday after a match marked by a massive, heartfelt homeage.
Rumours that the legendary 'number 8' was due to be signed up by the J-League team have been rife in the last two weeks and sparked huge expectations in the far-eastern country.
Speculation was partly fuelled by the fact that Vissel Kobe FC's owner, Hiroshi Mikitani, is also chairman of the electronics giant Rakuten, Barça's main sponsor.
Mikitani publicly praised Vissel Kobe's new 'secret weapon' for his 'excellent leadership' and championed the values of Spanish football and its 'global influence' which, he says, will be 'an inspiration for [Vissel Kobe], the whole of the J-League and Japanese society in general'.
According to the club boss, Iniesta's own methodology will be used in training the Vissel Kobe youth team, which will be working closely with FC Barcelona in the future.
34-year-old Iniesta will be following in the footsteps of his compatriots Txiki Beguiristain, Andoni Goikoetxea and Julio Salinas, all of whom played for J-League clubs at the end of the 1990s.
He flew to Tokyo on Monday in Mikitani's private jet, according to Twitter.
Iniesta, who has won 32 titles over 22 years with Barça and helped Spain to two consecutive European titles in 2008 and 2012, as well as scoring the winning goal that secured World Cup victory for Spain in 2010, is not due to start playing for Vissel Kobe just yet.
He will begin his career with the J-League after playing for Spain in the forthcoming World Cup in Russia.
