Andres Iniesta, received with the Spanish anthem in Japan

Andrés Iniesta has already had the opportunity to meet some Japanese fans. After being presented as a new Vissel Kobe player for the next three seasons, he appeared at the Miyagi Baseball Stadium to watch a game between the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles against the Orix Buffalos. The stadium is where Rakuten's side plays, the same company that owns Vissel Kobe and sponsors Barcelona.

Iniesta, with Hiroshi Mikitani, came out onto the pitch to the sound of the Spanish national anthem. Iniesta greeted the fans and later was photographed with the baseball team. His presence caused a lot of excitement in the stands.

Unlike Lukas Podolski's presentation, Iniesta didn't throw a ceremonial first pitch. That honour instead was undertaken by youtuber Yuka Kinoshita.