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Deal Sealed: Rangers FC have completed the signing of the exciting Barcelona teenage talent, leaving Ibrox fans shocked and double-checking the news.
At first glance, it appeared that the Spanish football legend had come out of retirement to join Rangers at Ibrox.
Alex McLeish, a former Rangers manager, had once spoken about how close the club came to signing a young Andres Iniesta from Barcelona.
Recently, some Rangers supporters were momentarily misled by a headline that read, “Andres Iniestra has signed for Rangers FC,” leading many to believe the Spanish icon was making an unexpected return to football in Scotland.
Upon closer inspection, however, it became clear that the name was spelled differently, and the signing wasn’t for Rangers in the Scottish Premiership. Instead, it was a 28-year-old Mexican midfielder with a nearly identical name who had joined Andorran club Ranger’s FC from Cancun.
Fans across the UK took to social media, with one saying, “I thought Andres Iniesta was signing for Glasgow Rangers,” while another commented, “They thought they were getting the real one,” and a third added, “Wait… I had to read that a few times.”
The actual Andres Iniesta retired last year after his final playing stint in the UAE with Emirates, capping off a remarkable career that included nine La Liga titles, four Champions League trophies with Barcelona, and a World Cup and two European Championships with Spain.
In a 2017 interview, McLeish reminisced about how the young Iniesta had come to his attention in 2004 while Rangers were looking for a replacement for Barry Ferguson, who had moved to Blackburn. McLeish, with the help of his assistant Jan Wouters’ connections, was tasked with finding a talented playmaker.
Their search took them to Barcelona’s Camp Nou, where Wouters had a link with then-manager Frank Rijkaard. A potential loan deal for Iniesta looked promising, but the club’s inquiry ended with the young talent being promoted to Barcelona’s first team just a week later.
McLeish recalled, “Jan Wouters called Henk ten Cate, who was Rijkaard’s assistant at Barcelona. Jan asked if there was anyone we could bring in, and they mentioned a young player named Iniesta, who was only 18 at the time.
We asked about the possibility of bringing him to Scotland, but they said they were working to make things happen for Barcelona and get him over to us. They also mentioned that Iniesta needed more game time.”
