Lionel Messi has paid tribute to former team-mate Andres Iniesta after the Spain legend announced his retirement from active football.
Iniesta, 40, on Monday evening shared his retirement news via an emotional video on social media. The versatile midfielder has been without a club since leaving UAE side Emirates Club in the summer and has decided to call it quit.
In the video, the likes of Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Louis van Gaal all spoke on Iniesta, who shared the caption ‘the game continues’ with Tuesday’s date also linked.
Lionel Messi has now taken to social media to congratulate Iniesta on his career. The Inter Miami forward took to Instagram to reference Iniesta’s retirement.
‘One of the team-mates with the most magic and one of the ones I enjoyed playing with the most,’ Messi posted, alongside a picture of himself and Iniesta from their Barcelona days.
‘Andres Iniesta, the ball will miss you, and so will all of us. I wish you the best always; you are a phenomenon.’
Messi and Iniesta played together 489 times for Barcelona, with the former departing in 2021 and the latter in 2018.
In total, the Spaniard played a total of 674 matches for the club, netting 57 goals and logging a further 135 assists in that time.
Iniesta is fourth in the all-time appearance list for the club, behind Messi (778), Xavi (767) and Sergio Busquets (719). He came through Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy and made his professional debut in 2002.
The Spaniard went on to spend an incredible 16 years in the Catalan side’s first team, winning 32 trophies with Barca, the second highest in the club’s history behind Messi, who lifted 35.
