José Mourinho has sent a special message to Petr Čech after the Arsenal 'keeper announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season.
The former Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United boss managed the 36-year-old Czech shot-stopper during their time at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Mourinho congratulated the former Czech Republic international on his football career.
"I am honoured to have been the manager that, at such an early age, gave Petr a top Premier League number one shirt," he said.
"After that day, it is all about him. All about his numbers, his performances, his clean sheets, his titles and his professionalism.
"It's a big loss for football but history can't be deleted. Many congratulations on such an amazing career."
Mourinho, who was sacked by United last year, has not been the only one to pay tribute to Čech. In fact, Chelsea also released a statement after the news broke.
"Čech moved to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2004 and remained first-choice keeper between our posts for a decade, maintaining such high levels of performances that he will be remembered not just as our best-ever goalie but also as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time," the statement reads.
"The 6ft 5in former Czech Republic captain won four Premier League titles during his time in west London, keeping a record 21 clean sheets during the first of those in 2004/05.
"Čech, now 36, also won the FA Cup on four occasions, the League Cup three times, the Europa League once and, most memorably of all, the Champions League in 2012, when his three penalty saves played a massive part in us lifting the trophy we craved most of all."
Čech took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to announce that it would be his final season at club level.
"This is my 20th season as a professional player and it has been 20 years since I signed my first professional contract, so it feels like the right time to announce that I will retire at the end of the season," he said.
"Having played 15 years in the Premier League, and won every single trophy possible, I feel like I have achieved everything I set out to achieve.
"I will continue to work hard at Arsenal to hopefully win one more trophy this season, then I am looking forward to seeing what life holds for me off the pitch."
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