Andres Iniesta to likely quit Spain after World Cup

Spanish star midfielder Andres Iniesta (Manu Fernandez/AP)

MADRID — Andres Iniesta says he will most likely retire from international soccer after Spain plays at the World Cup.

Iniesta told Onda Cero radio late Monday that "if nothing strange happens, this World Cup will be my last participation with the Spanish national team."

The 34-year-old Iniesta scored the winning goal for Spain in the 2010 World Cup final. He also was a key part of Spain’s two European Championships in 2008 and 2012.

Iniesta announced last month he would leave Barcelona after 16 seasons. His last match for Barcelona is on Sunday against Real Sociedad at Camp Nou.

Iniesta said it made sense to leave the national side at the same time he bids farewell to Barcelona.

"After this season everything will be totally different," Iniesta said. "If I had decided to continue playing for Barcelona, then I would want to continue playing with Spain."

The midfielder said he will reveal his next club before Spain plays at the World Cup in Russia. He has said he won’t play for another European club.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.