Lionel Messi has paid tribute to and hero after the 40-year-old .
Iniesta was a team-mate of Messi's for each of his four triumphs with Barca, in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015. He also scored the winning goal for Spain in the 2010 World Cup final and won two European Championships titles with La Roja.
The diminutive midfielder left Camp Nou in 2018, spending five seasons in Japan with and joining Emirates Club in the UAE last season. He scored five league goals last season, but was unable to save the club from relegation.
After taking stock of his career, Iniesta chose to officially hang up his boots on Monday. Tributes have poured in from across the footballing , with Messi's words emphasising just how highly he was regarded.
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“One of the teammates with the most magic and one of those I enjoyed playing with the most," Messi wrote on social media. “The ball is going to miss you, and so will all of us. I wish you the best always, you’re a phenomenon."
Iniesta announced his retirement with an emotional video, which he captioned: 'The game goes on'. It featured tributes from a number of former managers, including Luis Enrique, Louis van Gaal and .
"Do you know what it reflects to me?" said Luis Enrique, who played with Iniesta at Camp Nou before managing Barcelona. "It reflects what we felt when we were kids on the street, when your mother called you, after dark, when you could no longer see the ball, [shouting] 'come here, come here' - that's Andres Iniesta."
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Iniesta was a key part of Guardiola's dominant Barcelona team, along with Messi, Xavi and other homegrown stars. It was the manager's first time in charge of a senior side, though, and he reflected on how Iniesta helped him out after a tough start.
Xavi has already long retired, beginning his journey as a manager. Messi is still going, though, with the youngest of the three men enjoying a spell at Inter Miami in the twilight of his career - 16 years after Guardiola's managerial tenure began with a defeat and a draw.
"Having one of the most important talents that was Andres, at that moment, we had just one point from six and were almost on relegation," Guardiola reflected, "When a player like Andres tells you that you are on the right path, people are happy.
"Everything will be fine, it will be fine. Wow. It gave me the boost of energy to keep going. I will always be grateful, very much so."
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