Champions League: Please don't go, Iniesta

For football fans, April feels like the countdown to Christmas for kids. All of the major leagues are nearing the end of their domestic campaigns and European competitions are left with the best of the best. Even the neutrals, who constantly tell you the Champions League is always the same, can’t keep their eyes off the TV.

These are the matches players dream of being involved in. You can’t fluke your way to the final of the premier European competition anymore. Well, apart from Chelsea that one time, but you know what I mean. Eventually it comes down to quality, holding your nerve and taking your chances when they present themselves.

Sometimes you need to be patient. I mean, Cristiano Ronaldo finally got his overhead kick goal at the 2,589th attempt last night.

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People will forget the previous 2,588 tries because the last one was worth it. And it’s the same across football. You can try and fail repeatedly but win once and all that pain will have been worth it. The jokes will stop, so too the memes. These are the moments which define players, teams, coaches and the sport itself.

We want to see the best face off against each other

And while success is the ultimate goal for every side, it’s also about pitting yourself against the best around. You want to leave no one in any doubt that they are witnessing greatness. For the players who aim to be named after a fluffy animal with horns, individual awards are just as important.

However there’s one player who doesn’t possess the individual accolades his performances and success merit. A player who has achieved more in his career than most teams and nations have in their entire history. Someone who doesn’t want the limelight, the celebrity lifestyle or his face across a variety of products. This is a man who set the bar so high, most can’t even see it. And we’re on the verge of him leaving Europe through the backdoor.

No, unfortunately it isn’t Nigel Farage.

Could this be Iniesta’s final month at Barcelona?

Up in Barcelona they are becoming increasingly concerned that Andres Iniesta will accept the offer from China. “I must decide before April 30 whether to stay at Barcelona or go to China,” Iniesta said following the victory over Chelsea. “I have to weigh up which is best for me and for the club.”

Please don’t leave, Andres.

It goes without saying the money on offer is going to be eye-watering. China is desperate to improve its image in world football. Their current strategy is to go along with the ‘enjoy your retirement here’ rule the MLS originally had. It’ll bring fresh eyes to the league, for sure, but long-term it does nothing unless there’s a serious investment in improving the general standard of football. Not even David Beckham could make people watch non LA Galaxy matches!

How many people are going to watch the Chinese Super League if Iniesta goes there?

Be honest here. How many of you are going to track down Chinese Super League matches to catch a glimpse of Iniesta in action? Even if the kick off times are adjusted for a mainstream European audience the vast majority are going to pick another league ahead of the CSL. Who knows how Yannick Carrasco and Nico Gaitan are getting on? Remember Hulk? Or that guy who was going to join Liverpool, Alex something or other. You see, I’ve already forgotten his name!

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And we’re back to people wanting to see the best against the best. Seeing Iniesta line up and compete against Ramires, Hulk and Wu Lei doesn’t have the same feel to it. What is there to prove for Iniesta in China at the age of 33, approaching 34? It would feel like some cheap travelling circus. Roll up, roll up. Come and see the great Iniesta on his farewell football tour.

Iniesta deserves more than that. We’re talking about one of – if not the – best midfielders of all-time. Injuries might be a concern but he’s still starting most weeks and having a huge influence on proceedings. We aren’t talking about a footballer living off his former glories but one who continually marks the difference between winning and losing. His experience is invaluable.

He’s still a key man at Barcelona

Of the 36 matches he’s been available for Barcelona, only twice was he an unused substitute. The team needs him right now. We’re talking about the crunch moment of a season where you need to keep your heads and see out the hard work which got you to this stage. Could you imagine Barcelona reaching the final and not seeing Iniesta in the lineup?

It was only back in October when Iniesta penned a “lifetime” deal with Barcelona. This was after speculation he could leave on a free transfer this summer. It felt like the fitting end to a man who has given so much of his life to one club.

Even though no one wants to admit it, Xavi Hernandez’s exit was a little underwhelming.

Iniesta retiring at Barcelona is the fairytale ending for fans

To see Iniesta retire at Barcelona before no doubt moving into coaching always felt like the logical conclusion to his career. A man who represents so much of why Barcelona are the blueprint for a lot of upcoming sides, an icon of the sport.

He would then learn his trade and eventually be given the chance to manager the new generation to glory. Promoting from within, as you’d expect, and who better than Iniesta? No doubt he’d be working under the newly appointed club president Gerard Pique.

This is the dream scenario for Barcelona fans. They don’t want their golden generation to splinter off and create history elsewhere. They want the legacy to continue and keep as many components of their dominant era at the club. Barcelona might lose Messi when he retires, Argentina seems the most likely destination for him, but Iniesta would hardly be a poor consolation prize. And we all know Pique won’t leave!

A wage increase for a footballer isn’t comparable to other professions

No doubt a move to China would include a huge pay rise, one which would be impossible for him to have anywhere else in Europe. Yet it’s one thing to compare a 50% pay rise for a guy working in a coffee shop to a footballer already earning in excess of €150,000 per week. They aren’t the same and shouldn’t be used as a reason to blindly say yes.

An average monthly wage in Spain is around €700. It’s tough to get by on that so a 50% or even 100% wage increase drastically changes your life. It doesn’t make you rich or even able to afford a new car but it allows you to breathe. Of course that person would take the pay rise without a second thought over his existing job.

For someone like Iniesta, and I’m not singling him out specifically, the difference on the grand scale of things is minimal. It doesn’t mean he will buy a new house or a new car, or be able to afford a holiday home on some exotic island. He, like many others in the sport, can do that already. To accept the money from China would value monetary gain over extending his legacy, as he’s already rich beyond most people’s wildest dreams.

Iniesta deserves to choose the next chapter in his life

At the end of the day for all that he’s achieved, and continues to achieve, Iniesta doesn’t owe anybody anything. He’s given Barcelona 22 years of his career and is free to make any decision he feels is best for him. That’s probably why the club didn’t immediately block the move. Iniesta, while bound by contract, is essentially a free man. If he wants to leave, he can.

However from a selfish point of view I don’t want to see Iniesta anywhere else but at Barcelona. It’s where he belongs and it’ll be interesting to see how he transitions from being a key player of the squad to member of the coaching staff.

Iniesta’s story isn’t over yet but a move to China would force us all to miss at least a chapter or two of it and that’d be a crying shame.