Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has admitted he did not try to change Andres Iniesta’s mind when the midfielder told him he was leaving around a month ago.
Valverde also said he “does not care” if Real Madrid refuse to give Barca a guard of honour before Sunday’s Clasico, with the hosts coming into the match as La Liga and Copa del Rey champions.
The meeting of Spain’s two biggest teams at the Camp Nou will be Iniesta’s last, after he announced he will be leaving Barcelona at the end of the season.
Iniesta, who is expected to complete a move to China, has been key in recent months but Valverde said there was no point trying to persuade the 33-year-old.
“He told me around a month, a month and a half ago,” Valverde said. “I was not going to say anything, we exchanged opinions, it was a very thoughtful conversation.
“When the person who tells you is someone who has his kind of experience, not like a younger player where you can try to direct him, you don’t try to convince him or make him think more about it.”
Iniesta’s finale will be one of a number of sub-plots running around this weekend’s fixture, which carries minimal significance in terms of the La Liga table.
The post It was not worth trying to change Iniesta’s mind – Valverde appeared first on World Soccer Talk.
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