Andres Iniesta is widely regarded as one of football’s greatest ever midfielders (Image: GETTY)
A legend of the game who was robbed of the has taken up a completely new career since hanging up his boots last year.
Andres Iniesta is widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders in history, having won every available trophy during his time at . He also won the and Euros as a member of the Spain team which dominated the late 2000s and early 2010s.
Despite being one of the world’s best players for over a decade, Iniesta never claimed the greatest individual prize in football. Back in 2018, he received an apology from Ballon d’Or chiefs who admitted that he should have been among the winners.
Pascal Ferre, the editor of France Football magazine which runs the Ballon d’Or, wrote: “Forgive us, Andres. For us, he wasn’t just a player, he was the player. His sacrifices for the team ultimately deprived him of greater individual recognition.
The former World Cup winner is involved in the family winemaking business (Image: GETTY)
“Of all the absences on the list of Ballon d’Or winners, his is particularly painful. We can only hope he has a special campaign at the World Cup in and repair this democratic anomaly.”
Iniesta spent the latter part of his career in Japan and the Middle East, having left Barcelona to join Vissel Kobe in 2018. He spent his final season with Emirates Club in the UAE before announcing his retirement from football last year.
The 40-year-old has since embarked on a new career in winemaking, having taken over a vineyard in the middle of the Castilla-La Mancha region in Spain.
The family wine business was established by Iniesta’s father, Jose Antonio, during the 1990s. Known as Bodega Iniesta, it opened its doors to the public in 2010 and has achieved worldwide fame as a result of the football legend’s involvement.
It is home to 14 different grape varieties, which are used to produce many types of wine including white, red, rose and sparkling.
Don’t miss… [COMMENT] [GOSSIP]
: “Our vineyards are carefully controlled and treated with dedication to ensure that our vines are healthy and production is as expected, with a deep respect for our natural environment that gives us its best every year.
“Our mission is to innovate every day to be able to offer the world the benefits of our land and the great quality of our wines. We look to the future with the aim of improving ourselves, researching and innovating to achieve the highest quality standards.”
Iniesta spoke about his fascination with wine in a previous interview with , saying: “Wine has always been present in my family. On one side, my grandparents had vines. On the other side, my maternal grandparents owned a bar.
“Since I was little, I was aware that wine forms a big part of Spanish popular culture and our gastronomic traditions, but it was my father who convinced me to create our own winery.
“Certainly, there was a financial incentive. It was a way to invest but more than that, it was an opportunity to create a business, something from our land.”