Back in October 2017, FC Barcelona and Andrés Iniesta agreed to a deal that will keep the midfielder at the Cataluyna club for the remainder of his career. However a report by Spanish publication, Sport, suggests that Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian is tempting the 2010 World Cup winner with a £31 million-a-season offer.
According to the paper, the skipper of the Catalans is pondering on the move and a decision is expected to be made very soon. It is also expected that the presence of Philippe Coutinho at Barcelona will expedite Iniesta’s decision considering he has been tipped as the direct heir to his position.
Nonetheless, Ernesto Valverde, when asked about this at a press conference on Friday, brushed off the claims and expressed his desire to see the 33-year-old midfield with his Barcelona side.
“I can't comment on every story in every newspaper. This has not happened, and we want Andres to stay, to keep scoring and creating goals for us".
The manager further asserted that he is not daunted by Far East clubs tempting his players with huge wages.
"At the moment it has only happened with Mascherano and I am not going to make myself go crazy thinking about these things before they have happened."
"We have not got time to think about these just now given all that we are playing for."
Valverde’s side will play in La Liga against Eibar at the Ipurua on Saturday before they prepare again to take on Chelsea in another UEFA Champions League Round of 16 blockbuster game next Tuesday.
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