The coach of Barcelona, Ernesto Valverde, denies Iniesta's departure to Chinese League

The coach of Barcelona, Ernesto Valverde, denied on Friday that the captain of the team, Andrés Iniesta, will leave the club for the Chinese League, one day before facing Eibar in the League.

"I can't comment on every news that comes out. We want him to continue with us, to keep scoring and making goals. It only happened with Mascherano (joining the Chinese League). To consider that when we're in February, I don't think we have time to think about it," said Valverde.

The Sport newspaper published on Friday that Iniesta, 33, has an offer to join Tianjin Quanjian, from the Chinese Super League, with a contract of 35 million euros per season (43.5 million dollars).

Iniesta, who will turn 34 in May, has only played professionally at Barcelona, the club where he has been trained since he was a child. In the January transfer market, Brazilian Philippe Coutinho arrived at the club, destined to occupy his position in the future.

Mascherano left Barcelona in January to play for Hebei China Fortune.

After two draws in the League, Valverde referred to the match against Eibar, seventh in the table, three days before starting the Champions League round of 16 against Chelsea.

"We needed this clean week to have a little margin after the draw the other day, this match is even more important. The season is going very well, good dynamics, but we still have a long way to go," said the coach of the league leader.

"What we have to do is approach the match in a powerful way, knowing that we have a great opponent like Eibar who has great qualities, different from ours, and that we will have to overcome," he added. AFP