Iniesta appeared before a packed press conference in Tokyo on Thursday along with Kobe's billionaire owner Hiroshi Mikitani.
'I'm pleased to announce that Andres Iniesta will be
signing up play with Vissel Kobe after his historic career at Barcelona,' Mikitani said.
Mikitani is also the CEO of Barcelona's main sponsor Rakuten, a Japanese online retailer.
He added: 'Iniesta is a top global player. Many of us will recall Iniesta's astounding goal in the final of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa that brought Spain its first title in the tournament.
'Since 2015, Iniesta has also led Barcelona.
'I am confident Iniesta's philosophy, leadership and DNA will be a terrific inspiration, not only for Vissel Kobe but all Japanese football society.
'We look forward to Andres Iniesta not only strengthening the team's performance but also contributing to the development of the next generation of players through the introduction of the Iniesta methodology to the youth academy.
'We believe his decision to come to Japan will have a major impact, not just on Vissel Kobe, but on football in Japan and Asia.' na as captain and last year he was the first player to sign a lifetime contract with the club.
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