Andres Iniesta’s Chinese Super League move in doubt as Barcelona-linked J.League side emerge as 11th hour suitors
A-League clubs and Rakuten-owned Vissel Kobe linked to World Cup winner but Chongqing statement means little after Bakambu’s Beijing Guoan move
Meanwhile, reports have suggested that Iniesta will move to either the Japanese J.League or Australia’s A-League, which is said to be his preferred destination.
The carefully worded three-point statement said that the club will not offer a salary that would distort the market, that they were committed to youth development in order to help the national team and that while the club and the companies of owner Jiang Lizhang have existing business with Iniesta in several areas that does not mean that any future cooperation between the parties will see Iniesta join as a player.
Jiang made his money from a sports marketing agency of which Iniesta is a client and the player had visited Chongqing as his guest before, something which had fuelled rumours of Iniesta joining the club.