What's up with Iniesta?

A substitute in two out of the five league games

Andrés Iniesta is having a very odd start to the season. As yet, he's not really got up to cruising speed. Given the importance he has in the team, considered to be Barça's nº1 player after Messi, the Spaniard seems somewhat sluggish.
Of the five games that have been played to date, he has been a substitute in two - first against Levante and then against Rayo Vallecano. In the three matches where he has started, he only played the full 90 minutes in the Mestalla stadium. In the SuperCup, he also played a full game in the Vicente Calderón, but only 17 minutes in the second leg. He also played the full 90 against Ajax.
A year ago Iniesta had the world at his feet, and the trophy for the best European player in his cabinet. Since then, apart from the numbers, it is also clear that the player's importance in the team itself has also lessened. In these first few games of the season, the team is slowly getting to grips with the new-look Barça that Martino is after. Iniesta, however, has not as yet found himself a convincing role to play in it.
Meanwhile, the player is in the middle of having his contract renewed. Barcelona has emitted several optimistic messages saying that an agreement will soon be reached. Iniesta is a key figure at Barça, and the Catalan club is looking to award him with the second highest-paid contract, after (of course) Messi.