Barcelona

Andres Iniesta: 'Playing with Lionel Messi is a privilege'

By Sam McEvoy, Reporter | 01 August 2015

Andres Iniesta praises Lionel Messi by saying that he is 'privileged to have played alongside him' and the Spaniard hopes to continue doing so for many years to come.

Barcelona ace Andres Iniesta has said that it has been a "privilege to play" with teammate Lionel Messi for most of his career, and hopes to continue doing so for many more years to come.

The 31-year-old has claimed nearly every possible trophy with club and country, scoring the winning goal in the World Cup final against the Netherlands in 2010 while going on to lift multiple Champions League trophies for the Catalan side throughout his career.

However, Iniesta states that he has been privileged to have played alongside Messi for the past 11 years.

"We have experienced all sorts of situations together and we know each other so well," Iniesta said, according to Goal.com.

"We have lived alongside one another for such a long time. And to have experienced what we have together is to be very happy.

"The truth is that it is a privilege to play with him. I cannot say much more than that. Leo has always been unique for me and hopefully I get to play with him for a lot longer. That's what matters."

Iniesta made his senior debut for Barcelona in 2002 and has gone on to make over 350 appearances for the club.