Barcelona midfielder, Andres Iniesta has signed a ‘lifetime contract’ with Barcelona, keeping him at the club for the rest of his career. The Spaniard has also put an end to speculation regarding his future at the club.
Meanwhile, on this day in 1996, the 33 year-old World Cup winner played his first Barcelona game for their U14B side. He has made 600 senior appearances to his name since.
Ultimate Team Of The Year: Meet UEFA's All-Time XI
UEFA today unveiled their all-time XI as the Team of the Year 2016 vote launches today!
The football governing body also explained why the select footballers made it to the team.
Meet the nominees!
Iker Casillas (Goalkeeper) – Real Madrid/Porto & Spain
Spain’s captain at UEFA EURO 2008 and 2012 also lifted the 2010 FIFA World Cup – three of the six times he made it into Team of the Year. Manuel Neuer and Gianluigi Buffon (three selections each) are his main (albeit distant) rivals for the No 1 shirt.
Carles Puyol (Defender) – Barcelona & Spain
Enjoyed a golden run from 2005 onwards, winning the UEFA Champions League with Barça in 2006, 2009 and 2011, and UEFA EURO 2008 and the 2010 World Cup as cornerstone of his country’s defence.
Philipp Lahm (Defender) – Bayern München & Germany
One of Europe’s most consistent performers of the past decade, Lahm’s run of three successive Team of the Year appearances came to an end in 2015.
Sergio Ramos (Defender)– Real Madrid & Spain
Four selections in a row are a measure of the Real Madrid man’s standing, the defender having earlier been rewarded for his role in helping Spain to UEFA EURO 2008 glory.
Gerard Piqué (Defender) – Barcelona & Spain
One of four defenders to have been chosen four times along with Alessandro Nesta, Daniel Alves and John Terry, Piqué squeezes into the XI on a tie-breaker by virtue of having been nominated seven times – while his three rivals received only six nominations each.
Xavi Hernández (midfielder)– Barcelona & Spain
A contender in 2005, it was not until his second involvement in 2008 that Xavi made the cut – then there was no dislodging him as unprecedented success with club and country kept him in the side for five years running.
Andrés Iniesta (midfielder) – Barcelona & Spain
Like midfield partner Xavi, once he forced his way into the Team of the Year Iniesta proved impossible to remove until 2013, but returned in splendour in 2015.
Steven Gerrard (midfielder) – Liverpool & England
One of five midfielders to have been selected three times, seven nominations were key to taking the Liverpool talisman into the ultimate XI at the expense of Kaká (five nominations), Ronaldinho (four), Pavel Nedvěd (three) and Zinédine Zidane (three).
Cristiano Ronaldo (forward) – Manchester United/Real Madrid & Portugal
Nominated a record 13 times, the Portuguese phenomenon has been included in the Team of the Year no fewer than ten occasions, three more than any other player. The 2015 team marked his ninth appearance in a row.
Lionel Messi (forward) – Barcelona & Argentina
Like Ronaldo, Messi was initially categorised as a midfielder – collecting the first of ten successive nominations in 2006 – and has missed out on the Team of the Year just once, in 2013, since his 2008 debut.
Thierry Henry (forward) – Arsenal & France
Nominated for the first six editions, Henry’s consistency was such that he got into the final selection no fewer than five times, including the first four – the only player to achieve that.
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Ronaldinho tricked us into believing he was joining Real Madrid – Iniesta
Excerpts from Barcelona legend, Andres Iniesta’s new book, ‘The Artist: Being Iniesta’ is gaining traction online. The ace midfielder made a startling revelation of how, ex Barcelona, Ronaldinho told him he was joining Real Madrid from Barcelona ….. at the end they realised he was playing mind games.
‘A few days before the Clásico, Dinho called me at home at night. ‘Andrés, I know it’s 3am, but I have to confess something. In June I’ll leave Barça. I have an agreement with Real Madrid.’
It’s an incredible amount that I can’t refuse. Please do not tell anyone in the locker room or the club, do not betray me, I trust you more than anyone.’
It’s an incredible amount that I can’t refuse. Please do not tell anyone in the locker room or the club, do not betray me, I trust you more than anyone.’
‘He didn’t give me time to say anything. The next day, we were in training and I felt an awkward atmosphere. The whole team was silent and they were all greeting Ronaldinho like never…’
‘When the day of the Clásico came, in the locker rooms of the Bernabéu Dinho told: ‘Guys, today is a very important game, they are strong, but these days I discovered that we’re a family. I called you all during the night and I told you that I was leaving in June, but none of you spoke.’
‘I realised that we were ready to suffer in silence rather than betray each other. I’ll stay here for a long time… Now let’s go into the field and learn Madrid a lesson!”
Ronaldinho netted twice that night.
Messi, Iniesta, others unveil new Camp Nou model (Photos)
Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and first team members of the squad were present as Barcelona unveiled designs for the new one-of-a-kind Camp Nou stadium. Construction of the new development is due to begin in 2017 and will be open for the 2021-22 season.
“We are proud to present the winning proposal for the new Camp Nou,” he said. “Many submissions were from the best architectural firms in the world. I want to thank all of them. I want to thank the work of the jury as well. They put in an awful lot of hours. It’s been a job well done. Other clubs have built better and more modern stadiums, with new technologies. This is why there have been projects in the last 20 years to improve Camp Nou, though for different reasons these could not move forward.
“Forty per cent of Camp Nou has not been touched since it was built. A club such as ours should have the best arena in the world. I believe this new Camp Nou will be an icon for the city, one of the most beautiful cities in the world.” Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu said.
The Catalan club captain, Andres Iniesta, who unveiled the stadium model alongside coach, Luis Enrique added that, “I think it’s a very important step forward for the club, having a stadium like this one will keep on being a reference for one of the best clubs in the world. We’ll enjoy it in different ways, of course – some of us playing and some watching. We’ve been lucky to play at many different stadia, but I think this will be unique.”
Photo Credit: Twitter.com/barcastuff
Andres Iniesta is Spain athlete of the year
Barcelona midfielder, Andrés Iniesta has been named Spain athlete of the year 2015. He received the gong during an awards gala organized by Spanish print media, Mundo Deportivo yesterday, February 1, 2016 in Catalonia. The Spain international has won 26 titles at Camp Nou.
Andres Iniesta makes history in Spain
Spanish midfielder, Andres Iniesta has become the first Barcelona and Spain player to win the Golden Foot award. He edged out superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Andrea Pirlo, Thierry Henry, Yaya Toure etc to win the prestigious prize.
The award is handed over to players aged 28 or over and it is determined by an online poll. Then a panel of journalists select 10 finalists based on personality and achievements. At the 11th edition of the ceremony which took place in Monaco yesterday, Iniesta had a mould of his footprints taken on stage.
Past Golden Foot Winners
2003 – Roberto Baggio, Brescia
2004 – Pavel Nedved, Juventus
2005 – Andriy Shevchenko, AC Milan
2006 – Ronaldo, Real Madrid
2007 – Alessandro Del Piero, Juventus
2008 – Roberto Carlos, Fenerbahce
2009 – Ronaldinho, AC Milan
2010 – Francesco Totti, Roma
2011 – Ryan Giggs, Manchester United
2012 – Zlatan Ibrahimovic, PSG
2013 – Didier Drogba, Galatasaray
2014 – Andres Iniesta, Barcelona
The Golden Foot award, which has been running for more than a decade, can only be won once and
Iniesta’s mould will join those of previous winners in the ‘Champions promenade’, based along Monaco’s seafront.
‘Thank you very much everyone for this award… Golden Foot 2014!’ The 30 year-old tweeted.
Credit: Daily Mail UK/Getty Images
NEW VIDEO: MESSI, NEYMAR, PIQUE OTHERS TAKE UP INCREDIBLE ROLES IN NEW AD CAMPAIGN
Barcelona players: Messi, Neymar, Pique, were involved in an exciting ad campaign for Qatar Airways, the official airline for the spanish club.
I like Pique and Neymar’s part. He was really looking like an entry clearing officer. Stern look!
UNSTOPPABLE LEGEND: LIONEL MESSI WINS THE 2012 FIFA BALLON D'OR AWARD
And the footballing legend creates another record. Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi has been named the 2012 FIFA Ballon d’Or award winner. He’s also emerged the first player in history to win 4 Ballon d’Or trophies and at the same time piped out his Madrid nemesis, Cristiano Ronaldo and team mate, Andres Iniesta to win the highly-coveted award.
Acknowledging his team mates, the 25 year-old Argentine said, “This is impressive. I want to share this trophies with all Barça players, especially with Andres today, and the ARG players. As I always say, without my teammates, I wouldn’t do what I do. Football is a team sport.”
PHOTOS: MESSI, ETO'O, FABREGAS, PEDRO, VALDES OTHERS BESIEGE ANDRES INIESTA'S WEDDING
Barcelona midfielder and the Euro 2012 player of the tournament Andres Iniesta tied the knot with his long term girlfriend, and mother of his daughter Anna Ortiz at Tamarit castle, Spain yesterday, 8th July 2012.
Guests who besieged the star-studded wedding including present and ex Barcelona footballers, they were accompanied by their girlfriends/wives; Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o, Cesc Fabregas, Pedro, Victor Valdes. Whereas Puyol, Xavi, Pique came alone.
Pep Guardiola was absent but he later joined the banquet at a restaurant with his wife afterwards. The couple met in 2008.
Congrats Iniesta!!!
Photo credit:Barcastuff
TOP GOALS OF OCTOBER
1) Andres Iniesta, Barcelona v Viktoria Plzen
2) Kevin Prince-Boateng, Milan v BATE Borisov
3) Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid v Malaga
4) Deniz Baris, Antalyaspor v Trabzonspor
5) Roman Bezus, Vorskla Poltava v Metalist Kharkiv
6) Andrew Johnson, Fulham v Wisla Krakow
Source: WorldSoccer