Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand pays Barcelona captain Andres Inieista tribute

The 33-year-old on Friday announced he would be leaving Barcelona at the end of the season.

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta (Photo: AFP)

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta on Friday confirmed he would be leaving the club after a glorious 22-year spell and Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand took to Instagram to post a glowing tribute to the Spanish midfielder.

@andresiniesta8 I salute you. Mesmerising footballer, the silent assassin! This is the only time I ever got the better of him and thinking about it he only slipped! I only ever got near him in the tunnel. He played a huge part in destroying my dreams in not 1 but 2 @championsleague finals. Respect 👏🏽👌🏽⚽

A post shared by Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) on Apr 28, 2018 at 12:11am PDT

The two went head-to-head in two UEFA Champions League finals (2009 and 2011), with Barcelona trumping United on both occasions and Iniesta was the fulcrum of that dominant Blaugrana side.

Ferdinand, who is now a analyst for BT Sport, hung up his boots in 2015 but clearly holds Iniesta in high regard, as does the rest of the footballing community.

The 33-year-old Iniesta is not retiring from professional football, he confirmed on Friday, but did not reveal his next club save that it won’t be an European one.

Interest from the Chinese Super League and the Major League Soccer has intensified in recent weeks as speculation mounted on the diminutive midfielder’s future and he is likely to end up either in China or America.

A graduate of Barcelona’s famed La Masia Academy, Iniesta’s time with the Catalan giants coincided with arguably the best period in the club’s history.

Along with fellow Spaniard Xavi Hernandez, Iniesta formed what many regard as the best-ever central midfield partnership as the La Liga outfit dominated European football in an unforeseen manner.