Andres Iniesta has confirmed he will leave Barcelona at the end of the season after 22 years associated with the club. He has won 30 major trophies with the club and a 31st title is down the road with an as yet unbeaten season in the La Liga His 669 official matches for Barca rank second only to Xavi’s 767.

In a press conference attended by members of the first team and the club’s board on Friday, Iniesta said he wanted to finish at Barca “feeling useful, feeling important and still winning titles”.

“If there was a perfect way to go, it would have been this season. There are positive sensations this year and I felt still useful. It’s a very difficult day for me, to be here saying goodbye when I’ve spent my whole life here,” he said.

Iniesta is expected to continue his career in China but says his next move is yet to be finalised. The 33-year-old however said that it won’t be in Europe. “I have said I will never play against Barça, so I won’t play in Europe,” he said.

After joining Barca’s academy, La Masia, aged 12, Iniesta blossomed into one of the Catalans’ greatest ever players, winning four Champions League and eight La Liga titles, and lifting the World Cup with Spain. In his final season at Camp Nou, he has played a instrumental role in lifting the domestic double.

Struggling to hold back the tears, Iniesta said: “I understand that in the near future I will not be able to give the best of myself in all senses, both physically and mentally.

“If I had imagined finishing my career here, it would have been like this, feeling useful, feeling important and still winning titles.

“It’s a very difficult day for me because I’ve been here all my life and to say goodbye to my home and my life here is very hard.”

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