Andrés Iniesta hits 1,000 games

Andrés Iniesta has made to one thousand. The Barça legend, now playing his trade at the Emirates Club in the UAE Pro League, achieved the milestone in Friday's game against Ajman.

723 of those games were in the famous blaugrana jersey, including those for Barça Atlètic, after which he played 134 times for Vissel Kobe in Japan, and in the twilight of his career he has now played 12 times for the Emirates Club. The grand is completed by his 131 games for Spain, including the most famous of all, when he scored the winner in the 2010 final.

20 years at the top

Iniesta first appeared on the world stage in a Champions League game with Bruges in 2002, when Louis Van Gaal sent the youngster onto the field with the number 34 on his back. The rest is history.

The first of so many assists was scored against Recreativo Huelva later that same season, on 5 January 2003, with Rochemback having the honour of being the man who converted it.

Hero for Barça and Spain

Under Frank Rijkaard, he was one of the stars of the Champions League winning campaign of 2006, scoring his first European goals along the way against Udinese and starting every game except the final, where he was a second half substitute against Arsenal, and hence contributed to the comeback win.

But it was under Josep Guardiola that he truly excelled, and where his understanding with Xavi and later Sergio Busquets totally rewrote what being a midfielder is all about. in the 2008/09 season he scored five goals and gave 17 assists but what he will forever be remembered for is his sensational last-minute winner to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and send the team into the final again... which they would ultimately win in Rome.

There was more history to come in 2010 when his goal won Spain the World Cup for the first and only time, his first ever international goal in fact, and later that year he would be named second in the Ballon d'Or, topped only by his club team-mate Lionel Messi.

A legend departs

He would win two more Champions Leagues with Barça, and became captain after Xavi left for Qatar, but not long after, in 2015/16, Iniesta decided it was time to go too. In another double-winning year, he played his last ever game against Real Sociedad before bidding his beloved club a tearful goodbye.

Leader around the world

He spent the next dive years in Japan at Vissel Kobe where he further consolidated his legendary status playing along side former Barça colleagues Sergi Samper and Thomas Vermaelen. On two occasions, he has enjoyed the pleasure of friendlies against his former club.

Captain since 2019, he won the Emperor's Cup and Japanese Super Cup, and also the J1 League, although he wasn't around to collect the trophy because he had embarked on a new stage of his career.

Following a spectacular farewell in Japan, he left for his new club last summer, the Emirates Club, where he is again able to share a dressing room with a former Barça colleague, this time Paco Alcácer.