Andres Iniesta’s future unclear but Benito Carbone wants to stay after Emirates relegation

Benito Carbone, the former English Premier League striker, wants to stay on at Emirates and help guide them back to the top-flight of UAE football.

Despite having plenty of stardust scattered around the Ras Al Khaimah club this season, they were relegated from the UAE Pro League with a game to spare.

They were deprived a consolation win in their final game on Wednesday evening when an Al Ain side depleted by international call ups came from 2-0 down to beat them 3-2.

Andres Iniesta was conspicuous by his absence. The Spain great was not part of the match day squad for Emirates.

The former Barcelona midfielder turned 40 last month. He signed a one-year deal to play in RAK at the start of this season, with an option to extend for another year.

He has yet to publicly state whether he will play on or not, but did suggest earlier in the campaign he was not enjoying his experience given the team’s struggles.

It seems likely the last appearance of his glittering career might have been as a substitute in the game against Al Bataeh on Saturday which condemned them to the drop.

Iniesta was present for the final match, wearing Chicago Bulls shorts and a white T-shirt while watching from the stands with his son.

After the game he sought out Hernan Crespo, the Argentine coach of Al Ain, for a photograph and then went into the dressing room to speak to the players of the Asian Champions League winning side.

At the same time, Carbone was fielding questions about his own future. The former Inter Milan, Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa player arrived in January as an assistant to new Emirates manager Walter Zenga.

When the club parted ways with Zenga at the end of April, Carbone took over as head coach. Despite the team’s demotion, he