Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has paid tribute to Real Madrid icon Iker Casillas.

After five years away with Porto, Casillas announced on Tuesday his formal retirement.

And in reaction, Messi paid tribute to the goalkeeper legend, stating: "Iker is retiring today, but he has passed into the history of football a long time ago, not only because he was a benchmark in the Liga, but also because he managed to win everything internationally.

"He was a spectacular goalkeeper and it was really hard to have him as an opponent, but looking back I also think it was a pretty nice rivalry that made us have to outdo ourselves every time we faced each other."