Do we like Andrés Iniesta?
Our score: 7 out of 10. Decent record on the page and no harmful words found, held back by one photo apology and some messy money disputes.
Iniesta grew up in the tiny village of Fuentealbilla in Spain and built a trophy-laden career of about 24 years, most of it at Barcelona. When he retired in 2024, he fronted a press conference in Barcelona and got visibly teary. He said they were “not tears of sadness”.
The messiest chapter is money. In 2024 Japanese tax officials reportedly sought about ¥580 million over income they say he did not properly declare during his time at Vissel Kobe. Iniesta said he had filed worldwide income in Spain, that the debt from the Japanese inspection was settled, and that he was seeking a refund of double-taxed income under the Spain-Japan treaty.
Back home, Spain's Audiencia Nacional ruled in his favour in April 2024. It annulled tax assessments and penalties for 2010 to 2015, finding some had expired and others were poorly justified, though it kept a small part tied to payments to his agent. That's a win on paper, but it's hardly a tick for the squeaky clean.
Then came Peru. A group of businessmen alleged they paid about US$600,000 to his company NSN for events that mostly never happened, and Peruvian prosecutors opened an aggravated-fraud probe in late 2025. His company denied it, and a Lima prosecutor's office later decided not to take the case against him further. The complaints are allegations from those who made them, and he was not shown to be involved in the day-to-day running.
On the harm test, there is nothing nasty in his own words. In 2015 he joined Barcelona's campaign against homophobia in football, and in 2023 he spoke out on X against Luis Rubiales after the Women's World Cup kiss, saying such behaviour could not be tolerated. The stain is a 2019 family photo with two people in blackface, which his agency apologised for, saying he never meant to upset anyone. I found nothing from him on trans rights, climate or vaccines, so that's a gap rather than a pass on those.
The recent news is a quiet pivot: in June 2026 he became head coach of Gulf United in the UAE's second tier. He said the move was a way to give something back to football, and he is still chasing his Pro Licence. Hardly scandalous, but it's early days for him as a coach.