Andrés Iniesta Luján · Spain
Photo : CC BY-SA 4.0 — Bryan Berlin (Wikimedia Commons)
Iniesta scored the goal that won Spain the World Cup in 2010, in the 116th minute of the final against the Netherlands, and the goal that took Barcelona to the 2009 Champions League final in the 93rd minute at Stamford Bridge. For a player defined by control rather than output, his timing was remarkable.
He played 442 league matches for Barcelona and won four Champions Leagues and nine league titles. With Xavi and Busquets he formed the midfield that made possession an argument rather than a statistic, and Spain won two European Championships and a World Cup around the same three players.
He left for Vissel Kobe in 2018 and played on into his forties, finishing at Emirates Club in the UAE. He was booked eleven times in sixteen years at Barcelona, which is a statistic that says as much about him as any of the trophies.
Club career
| Years | Club | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–2003 | Barcelona B | 49 | 5 |
| 2002–2018 | Barcelona | 442 | 35 |
| 2018–2023 | Vissel Kobe | 114 | 21 |
| 2023–2024 | Emirates Club | 20 | 5 |
| Total | 625 | 66 |
International career
| Years | Team | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–2018 | Spain | 131 | 13 |
Honours
Dashed = runner-up.
Related legends
Career figures compiled from public records. Competitive senior appearances only.