Andres Iniesta pays the ultimate compliment to Paul Scholes after being sent signed shirt

Andres Iniesta has sent a special message to Paul Scholes after he received a personalised shirt from the former Manchester United midfielder.

In the past, both Iniesta and Scholes have been hugely complimentary about each other. In fact, the latter once named Iniesta as the best player he ever faced.

Speaking about the Spaniard in his column for the Indepedent in 2014, he said: "I still have Iniesta’s shirt from the 2011 [Champions League] final. He asked me to swap at the end of the game.

"His shirt is in my garage somewhere. I mean no disrespect, it is just I have never been one for memorabilia from my playing days. There is nothing of mine on display at home, apart from my 2008 Champions League winning shirt."

Ahead of that Champions League final in 2011, Iniesta praised Scholes and Ryan Giggs by calling them "living legends".

He added: "They have played a great number of games, have broken records, have won titles and furthermore they prove they in every game they are great professionals.

"They are examples for us and for youngsters who dream of triumphing some day. They are references you can learn a lot from."

More than a decade on and Iniesta is still a big fan of the former England international. In fact, he recently received a signed Scholes shirt featuring a personalised message.

He wrote on Instagram: “Thank you so much to my friends for getting me a signed and personally dedicated shirt from a player I have always greatly admired, Scholes! Thank you Paul.”

Image credit: Instagram/paulscholesaaa

As you can see from the screenshot above, Scholes would later respond, saying: "That’s the closest my shirt has ever been to @AndresIniesta8. What a footballer."

Scholes, who made 718 appearances for Manchester United, was once asked which players he wish he could have linked up with at Old Trafford.

“I'll say one or two,” he told MUTV. “Probably Iniesta – sensational. He could go past players, could control games, as Xavi could as well. It's difficult to choose between them.

“And as a midfield player I always liked to link with a no.10. I think Zidane, as a no.10, playing with him would have been special.

"But throughout my career, I played with amazing no.10s and amazing players, so it was never something I craved, but in a fantasy world I suppose it'd have been nice to play with Zidane and Iniesta.”