Argentine superstar Lionel Messi penned a heartfelt note as a tribute to Andres Iniesta after the Spainard announced retirement on Monday.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or posted a nostalgic note on his social media handle.
“One of the teammates with the most magic and one of those I enjoyed playing with the most," Messi wrote on social media. “The ball is going to miss you, and so will all of us. I wish you the best always, you’re a phenomenon."
Alongside Iniesta, the Argentine forward has experienced four Champions League victories while representing Barcelona in 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2015.
In 2010 World Cup final, the 40-year-old smashed the winning goal for Spain. He has also clinched two European Championships titles with La Roja.
After achieving huge milestones in his career, the midfielder decided to hang up his boots on October 7.
This was after Iniesta posted an emotional video with a heart-wrenching caption: “The game goes on," reminiscing about former Barcelona managers, including Luis Enrique, Louis van Gaal, and Pep Guardiola.
Since then, the internet is flooded with a number of comments from across the globe.
"Do you know what it reflects to me?" said Luis Enrique, who played with Iniesta at Camp Nou before managing Barcelona. "It reflects what we felt when we were kids on the street, when your mother called you, after dark, when you could no longer see the ball, [shouting] 'come here, come here' - that's Andres Iniesta."
