By Tim Stannard

Tearful Andres Iniesta announces that current season at Barca will be his last

Statistically-speaking – which is all that matters in modern sport, apparently – Andres Iniesta wasn’t all that.

Didn’t really score much, no assists, not that fast, not so much with the step-overs. However, the Barcelona midfielder will go down as one of the greatest players of the modern era for his ability to run midfields using skill and guile rather than strength and power.

Confession time - if Sports Burst has written anything different then Ray Hudson would have hung it upside down and tickled it with a Newcastle United scarf for seven hours.

Unsuccessfully holding back tears, Iniesta announced at a press conference on Friday that after 22 years with Barcelona this campaign would be his last with the Camp Nou club. “The club deserves the best of me, and I cannot give the best of me,” was the response from the Barcelona man who has yet to reveal where he will be playing next, except that it won’t be in Europe. The Chinese Super League is expected to be the next destination.

Tune into the Locker Room at 7:30PM ET / 4:30PM PT for a look back at the best moments of Iniesta in a bumper edition of the show.  

Unai Emery to leave PSG at end of current campaign

Friday is a day of departures as Unai Emery has confirmed what everyone pretty much knew anyway, that the Spaniard was leaving PSG at the end of the season after two seasons in charge of the Ligue Un outfit.  

“A great experience,” were the thoughts of the Spaniard who is on course for winning a domestic treble with PSG but whose two-year tenure is set to be blighted by early Champions League exits to Barcelona and Real Madrid and losing Ligue Un last season to Monaco.

“The next coach will be able to see that he is with a great club,” who confirmed what he was unable to deliver – “the Champions League is the first objective for PSG, but it also needs to remain strong in France.”

US President in rousing bid for support for 2026 bid

President Donald Trump has taken the unusual step of using the medium of Twitter to opine over the joint USA / Canada / Mexico World Cup bid for 2026.

A few eyebrows were certainly raised overnight when the normally reticent, hard-to-read president put out encouraging, friendly words to those countries who had yet to make a decision over favoring the North American bid over that of Morocco.

In an attempt to change the minds of any doubters over which way to swing, President Trump philosophically posed the question of “why should we be supporting these countries when they don’t support us (including at the United Nations)?”

The final decision on whether the 2026 World Cup will take place on these shores or North Africa will be made in Russia on June 13^th, a day before the 2018 World Cup gets underway. Judging by the current political climate between Mexico and the USA under President Trump, Leo Messi might even be tempted to prolong his playing career to participate. After all, no-one can get around a wall better than the Argentinean.

LeBron continues solo effort in play-offs

Friday night lights time!

beIN SPORTS is leading the way with an intriguing La Liga clash between Levante and Sevilla. Basically, if Levante win, the Valencia-based side are all but guaranteed beating the relegation trap. A victory will also go a long way to ensuring the firing of Vincenzo Montella at Sevilla, who are struggling to reach qualification for European competition next season. That game is live on beIN SPORTS CONNECT at 2:55PM ET / 11:55AM PT. CONNECT is also serving up the Ligue Un match-up between Montpellier and Saint Etienne. Catch all the action on the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT.

There could be some clinching – and clenching – going on in the world of NBA which has a big night of play-off action.

LeBron and some others in Cleveland Cavaliers jerseys have a chance to move through to the next round with a victory over the Indiana Pacers. The series is currently tied at 3-2, the same advantage held by the Toronto Raptors and Utah Jazz who take on the Washington Wizards and the Oklahoma City Thunder respectively.

WHAT IS SPORTS BURST?

The life philosophy of Sports Burst is that if you are not upsetting someone, then you are not trying hard enough. Sports Burst is a daily trawl and troll through the morning's sports news to bring you fact-nuggets to make you both smile and swear. Hopefully at the same time.