Barcelona apparently see Philippe Coutinho as Andres Iniesta’s eventual replacement.

Those are extraordinary big boots to fill.

Iniesta is a once-in-a-generation type player whose achievements with Barcelona and the Spanish national team put him in the pantheon of the finest players in history.

Eight La Liga titles. Four Champions League victories. The winning goal in a World Cup final. He’s had some career.

One of Iniesta’s most enjoyable displays came in the 2009 Champions League final against Manchester United.

Barcelona won 2-0 thanks to goals from Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi, with Iniesta pulling the strings in midfield.

Rooney in 2009: Iniesta is the best in the world

The Spain international has been overlooked for the Ballon d’Or award but Wayne Rooney had no doubts about who the best player in the world was at that point.

“Barcelona are a brilliant team and in my opinion Andres Iniesta is the best player in the world, he's incredible," Rooney said after the final defeat in Rome.

How Iniesta responded

One year later, Spanish football expert Graham Hunter asked Iniesta for his thoughts on Rooney’s sentiments.

“If I said that I wasn’t pleased then I’d be lying,” the playmaker responded. “It’s nice to hear, but the best thing is that the description comes from a top player and an important footballer.

“From a guy like Wayne Rooney, it says a lot. I could just as easily have said the same thing about him and his talents.

“Wayne has always impressed me, he works so unbelievably hard for the team and, above that, he has so much quality.”

How modest.

It was a moment of magic from Iniesta that secured Barcelona’s place in that 2009 final.

Trailing 1-0 in the semi-final against Chelsea, Iniesta scored a spectacular goal deep into stoppage time at Stamford Bridge that Dani Alves believes kickstarted Barcelona’s great run of success.

"This memory will never be erased. It’s the goal that led us to the final and thanks to that goal we went all the way and won this title," Alves, who now plays for Paris Saint-Germain, said in 2012, per Goal.

"This goal gave us confidence and faith in what we were doing. And it formed the basis of our success in our quest to win trophies.

"It’s inevitable that I remember that moment with a great deal of importance."

When Barcelona needed a saviour, up stepped Iniesta. Rooney might well have been right.