Cesc Fabregas has lavished praise on Carlos Puyol, who announced on Tuesday that he would depart Barcelona at the end of the season.
Fabregas, who has revealed that the players were made aware of the decision before the media, has described the veteran defender as "an eternal captain".
"We already knew about it. He is a great friend, you can see how he feels about what is happening at the moment," Fabregas told Radio Marca.
"It's a very difficult moment for him and it hurts when a friend makes such an important decision. It's not every day someone is brave enough to make this decision when he still has two years left on his contract.
"If you saw him train every day who wouldn't think he was 36 years old, he seems 18! For me he will always be an eternal captain."
Fabregas is currently on international duty with Spain.
