\n
Iniesta and Messi<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lionel Messi has paid tribute to his former Barcelona teammate Andr\u00e9s Iniesta after the World Cup-winner retired from professional football at the age of 40.<\/p>\n
Spain legend Iniesta announced his retirement at a special event in Barcelona on Tuesday, and Messi, another winner of football\u2019s greatest prize, wrote a note to his teammate on Instagram.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the teammates with the most magic and with whom I enjoyed playing the most,\u201d Messi said. \u201cFootball will miss you and so will we.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a player, Iniesta transcended rivalries in Spain, receiving standing ovations at the majority of grounds in the country, and that remained the case as he retired, with Real Madrid and Espanyol both represented at the event through Emilio Butrague\u00f1o and Joan Capdevila.<\/p>\n
Madrid posted a statement praising Iniesta on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cReal Madrid CF, its president and its Board of Directors wish to express their recognition, admiration and affection for one of the great legends of Spanish and world football,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndr\u00e9s Iniesta has contributed to the greatness of the sport with his football and his values, beyond the numerous titles he has won during his career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iniesta was visibly emotional at the event, which was attended by around 500 people, including family members, former teammates and a delegation from Bar\u00e7a, which included president Joan Laporta, coach Hansi Flick and first-team players Ansu Fati, Gavi, Ronald Ara\u00fajo and Dani Olmo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought this day would arrive,\u201d a teary-eyed Iniesta said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never imagined it. All the tears over the last few days are not tears of sadness, though, but of emotion, of pride.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are the tears of that small boy from Fuentealbilla, who dreamed of being a footballer and achieved it through a lot of hard work, sacrifice and never giving up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iniesta and Messi \u00a0 Lionel Messi has paid tribute to his former Barcelona teammate Andr\u00e9s Iniesta after the World Cup-winner retired from professional football at the age of 40. Spain legend Iniesta announced his retirement at a special event in Barcelona on Tuesday, and Messi, another winner of football\u2019s greatest prize, wrote a note to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":228852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-228851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-local-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
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