Javier Mascherano departed Barcelona after seven-and-half seasons with the Catalan giants on Thursday and club captain Andres Iniesta penned a tribute to the Argentine with an unfeigned Instagram post.

Ha sido un auténtico placer compartir vestuario estos últimos 8 años… has sido un ejemplo siempre de profesionalidad y compañerismo. Te mereces lo mejor. Un abrazo muy fuerte amigo… echaré de menos nuestras charlas, @mascherano14!

A post shared by Andres Iniesta (@andresiniesta8) on Jan 26, 2018 at 12:02pm PST

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The post, when translated, reads: “It’s been a real pleasure to share the dressing room these past 8 years…You’ve been an example of professionalism and companionship. You deserve the best. A hug my strong friend…I will miss our talks!”

Mascherano was given an institutional farewell by the club on Wednesday, which was attended by several of Barcelona’s former stars like Carles Puyol and the entire current Barcelona squad.

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The 33-year-old, understandably, struggled to hold back the tears as he addressed the crowd on the verge of a move to Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune.

On Thursday, the defensive midfielder said his goodbyes to the Nou Camp crowd as Barcelona hosted crosstown rivals Espanyol in the second-leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, La Blaugrana didn’t let the deficit ruffle them as goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi made sure Ernesto Valverde’s men would reach the last-four by virtue of a  2-1 aggregate victory.

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Since signing from Premier League side Liverpool in 2010, Mascherano had become a mainstay of Barcelona’s squads as the Catalans re-established themselves as continental powerhouses, usually playing in centre defence, as opposed to his usual midfield role.

However, the South American had found playing time hard to come by for the last season-and-a-half and was widely tipped to leave the Nou Camp once the winter transfer window opened on January 1.

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And once an offer from the cash-rich Chinese Super League materialised, the move was a win-win for all parties, especially after the Catalans had signed Colombian defender Yerry Mina earlier in January.

Mascherano departs a club legend and has the third-highest number of appearances for La Blaugrana (non-Spaniards), behind only Lionel Messi and Dani Alves.