Andres Iniesta, Barcelona Legend, Says Playing Football Not Important; Saving People’s Lives and Jobs Primary Task Amid Coronavirus Crisis

Former Barcelona star Andres Iniesta, who is in Japan, has said that right now as the world is dealing with coronavirus pandemic, playing football is secondary. The Vissel Kobe footballer said that saving human lives and jobs is important and should be given the priority. “Right now, I think football becomes a secondary thing. What is important right now is people’s lives, people’s jobs, trying to move society forward to get out of this situation,” Iniesta was quoted as saying by Reuters. Andres Iniesta's Last Goal For Barcelona Against Sevilla Surely Deserves To Be 'Goal of The Day' (Watch Video).

“Having said that, of course as a professional footballer it is difficult to not be able to play football, to not be able to share time with my fans, my teammates. I try to focus on the positive things – staying at home I get to spend much more time with my family and with my kids, which normally it is not that easy to do,” he added.

The 35-year-old also said, “It is a very difficult situation because you are not there (Spain) with them, with your loved ones.” This Day, That Year: Barcelona Legend Andres Iniesta Scored His First La Liga Goal Against Real Valladolid.

“You can’t see what is happening on a daily life level so that is difficult but we keep talking on a daily basis, checking in with them and just hoping that the situation gets better,” Iniesta added. Iniesta, who scored the winning goal for Spain in the 2010 World Cup final, joined Vissel Kobe in 2018 following his successful 22-year long stint with Barcelona.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 21, 2020 01:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).