Andres Iniesta Targets Barcelona Return 'To Transmit What I Have Learned'

Andres Iniesta said he would like to return to Barcelona in some capacity to pass on what he learned during his time at the club. 

Now with Vissel Kobe in Japan, Iniesta joined Barcelona as a youngster in 1996 before moving on last year.

He told Club del Deportista (h/t Marca's Ramiro Aldunate):

"If it were up to me, I would go back, but we don't know what the future will bring.

"Making long-term plans is difficult today and I wish I had the opportunity to come back as something for which I am qualified.

"That way I could try to transmit what I have learned for so long."

Barcelona are frequently accommodating when it comes to giving positions to those who have played for the club.

Eric Abidal, who spent six seasons at the club between 2007 and 2013, is their director of football, while four of their last five managers spent time with Barca during their playing careers.

Iniesta, 34, came through the Blaugrana's La Masia academy, and only Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez have made more than his 674 appearances for the club:

The last of those came on May 20 last year as Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0 on the final day of their campaign in La Liga.

He explained his decision to leave Barca for Vissel Kobe rather than finish his career at the Camp Nou:

"I always felt important, and I decided to leave because I saw that the moment has come in which I felt that I have given everything to my club, leaving my soul there.

"I took the decision to change the scenery, the country, my dreams and my targets.

"That what my heart and my body dictated."

The playmaker contributed to a great deal of success during his time at the club:

That included UEFA Champions League titles in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015, but he feels Barca perhaps should have won even more.

"I would have liked to win more Champions Leagues, but I think that people should feel proud of what they have achieved, because that's what made them happy.

"Real Madrid have won Champions League titles, and they are unhappy for not winning the league titles another club have won.

"It is true that in the last few years at Barcelona we had squads that could have taken one more step in the Champions League."

Nevertheless, Iniesta's legacy at the club is still one of overwhelming success, and he has a strong claim to have been the best player in the world over the last decade or so behind Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Though that does not necessarily mean he would be a good manager, he has plenty of knowledge and experience that could help him in a coaching or technical role at the club.