“This is a very special day for me. This is a very important challenge for my career,” said Iniesta, set to pocket an estimated annual salary of US$30 million.

“The J-League will hopefully spread in Asia. I’d like to help with that,” added Iniesta.

Mikitani said Iniesta “plays the most beautiful soccer in the world.”

The club also welcomed the player on Twitter while former club Barcelona wished him well on both their English and Japanese accounts.

Iniesta will wear his iconic number eight shirt for his new club, who currently sit sixth in the top flight after 15 games, but he will not make his debut until after the World Cup in Russia.

The move puts an end to speculation over the former Barcelona’s midfielder after he confirmed last month that he was to leave the Camp Nou after 22 years.

It was rumoured that the World Cup winner would move to the Chinese Super League, where Chongqing Dangdai Lifan had emerged as a destination thanks to Iniesta’s existing business interests with chairman Jiang Lizhang’s Desportes agency, but in recent weeks the J.League outfit have taken the lead.

This is in part because the club are owned by Mikitani, who is also CEO of Barcelona’s main sponsor Rakuten.

Both clubs had denied a deal for the 34-year-old.

Iniesta’s former Spanish international teammate Fernando Torres has also reportedly agreed to move to Japan with Spanish media outlets suggesting that a deal taking him to J2 League side Sagan Tosu will be announced in the coming days.

Iniesta is the second World Cup winner on the Vissel roster where he joins former Germany international Lukas Podolski.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse