April 27, 2018, will go down as a sad day for football fans.Andres Iniesta has confirmed that he will leave Barcelona at the end of the season, bringing an end to a glorious 21-year spell in Catalonia.In 16 seasons, Iniesta has played 669 matches and won everything that there is to win, including eight La Liga titles and the Champions League four times.A Ballon d’Or has eluded him but there are many who feel that Iniesta is the finest player never to have won the coveted individual award in history.Iniesta is now expected to continue his career in China, although he refused to confirm his destination."There are still things to be sorted. I have said I will never play against Barça, so I won't play in Europe,” he said in his press conference on Friday.Tears flowed from Iniesta as he spoke to the media, with his teammates present.

Torres' tweet

And football fans around the world set about posting their tributes to a football icon.

That includes Fernando Torres, who has posted a quite beautiful tweet to honour the man that he won the 2010 World Cup with.

“How many wonderful moments we have lived together @andresiniesta8!,” Torres wrote.

“And those that I want to stay forever.”

Class.

You’ll be hard pushed to find anyone with a bad word to say about Iniesta, who even spoke modestly about the fact that he has never won the Ballon d’Or.

“Not winning the Ballon d'Or isn't a thorn in my side or something which I regret,” he said in his emotional press conference.

“The magic I've been through as a player is enough for me, that's what I have gained happiness from.”

It’s an almighty shame that this is the end for the 33-year-old playmaker at the Camp Nou but nobody will ever forget the wonderful moments that he brought to the game.

He was a key part of one of the finest sides in the history of football - Pep Guardiola’s side that won the treble in 2008-09 and the double in 2010-11 - and played on another level to everyone else.