Iniesta drops hint about his preparing for Barcelona departure

MADRID, March 23 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona's Spain star, Andres Iniesta has dropped the big hint that he could leave the club at the end of the season to end his career playing outside of Europe..

The midfielder, who will be 34 years old in May only recently agreed a contract for life at the club, but there are increasing rumors that he could be on the verge of leaving and accepting a move to China at the end of the campaign.

Speaking on Spanish radio Iniesta gave his clear his clearest indication that he could be considering leaving the club he joined 21 years ago.

"I haven't decided 100% if I am going to stay or not," said Iniesta, adding that if he stayed, "it will be because I can perform at 200%."

"If I leave, it will be because I can't give the 200% that the club deserve from me. That's the doubt I have," he said.

The arrival of players such as Ousmane Dembele and especially Phillipe Coutinho, who many view as a direct replacement for him, with more signings expected in the summer means it will be "very difficult" to get a starting place in the starting 11 in the future, said Iniesta, who singled out Coutinho, as his direct successor.

Iniesta also gave a clear hint that should he leave his destination would be outside of Europe when he said that he would "never play against" Barcelona in the future. Enditem