Vissel Kobe 'to unveil Andres Iniesta on Thursday'

Japanese outfit Vissel Kobe will reportedly unveil Andres Iniesta as a new signing at a press conference on Thursday.

Iniesta made his last appearance for Barcelona against Real Sociedad on Sunday night, with the Spaniard departing the Catalan giants following 674 appearances in all competitions.

The player was expected to move to the Chinese Super League, but according to Goal.com, Vissel Kobe have won the race for the 34-year-old, who will be unveiled to the Japanese media before the end of the week.

Vissel Kobe's chairman Hiroshi Mikitani is the chief executive of Japanese electronics company Rakuten, who are currently the shirt sponsors of Barcelona.

Former Arsenal attacker Lukas Podolski joined the Japanese club last year, and Iniesta has reportedly rejected interest from the A-League to agree a deal.

Iniesta, who won 32 trophies in 16 years as part of the first team at Barcelona, is in the Spain squad that will compete at the 2018 World Cup.