Lionel Messi has named the most 'magical' teammate of his legendary career following the retirement of one of his former club colleagues.
Messi has played alongside some of the best players of his generation during his distinguished career, playing for Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Miami and Argentina.
Former Barca stars Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets followed him to the Major League Soccer to sign for the Florida-based football club.
Andres Iniesta, however, opted to move to Japan to play for Vissel Kobe before signing for UAE side Emirates Club, with the legend now calling time on his stellar career.
And Messi has paid tribute to his former Barca teammate, describing him as the one with the 'most magic' in glowing praise.
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He uploaded an image of himself celebrating a goal with Iniesta at Stamford Bridge, accompanied with the caption: "One of the teammates with the most magic and one of those I enjoyed playing with the most. The ball is going to miss you, and so will all of us. I wish you the best always, you’re a phenomenon."
High praise from Messi, who had the luxury of playing with Iniesta for his entire spell at Barca.
The Spanish icon, 40, played 674 games for the Spanish giants, scoring 57 goals, winning nine La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues, among other trophies - all won alongside the Argentine.
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And, on the international stage, he won the World Cup in 2010 and two Euros during a golden era for the Spanish national team.
While he never got his hands on the Ballon d'Or, he won several individual honours, including five La Liga Best Midfielder awards and the Player of the Tournament award in 2012.
Iniesta walks away from football as one of the greatest midfielders the game has ever seen.
Topics: Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Football, Barcelona
Nasir Jabbar