FCBARCELONA.CAT

27.11.2009 13:45

Pre-Madrid renewal nothing new to Iniesta

David Puig

The first time Andres Iniesta renewed his professional contract with Barça was also 48 hours before a clásico. That was on November 18, 2004, when he renewed terms until 2010. Two days later, Barça beat Real Madrid 3-0.

It may just be coincidence, but Iniesta will once again be renewing his contract before a Madrid game. When he put pen to paper in 2004, the side then coached by Frank Rijkaard were about to host Real Madrid in the twelfth game of the league season.

Iniesta was tied to the club until 2006 at the time, but his contract was subsequently extended to 2010 and the buy-out clause was raised from 30 to 60 million euros.

Premonition

After signing, Iniesta told Barça TV and www.fcbarcelona.cat that “it was a dream come true and the renewal will be perfect if we beat Real Madrid on Saturday at the Camp Nou”. They did indeed, winning 3-0 with goals from Eto’o, Van Bronckhorst and Ronaldinho.

Iniesta played 18 minutes of the game, coming on for the injured Larsson and showing some of the talent that in the following years would make him one of the finest players on the planet.