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Andrés Iniesta retires: Lionel Messi lauds 'magic' teammate

Related Topics: Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi has paid tribute to his former Barcelona teammate Andrés 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's greatest prize, wrote a note to his teammate on Instagram.

"One of the teammates with the most magic and with whom I enjoyed playing the most," Messi said. "Football will miss you and so will we."

Iniesta teased his retirement with a video on social media on Monday in which he talked about what football meant to him, before tributes were paid by a number of prominent names including Pep Guardiola, Louis van Gaal and Luis Enrique.