Wednesday 2 December 2015 22:22, UK
Lionel Messi has spoken of his admiration for NBA legend Kobe Bryant who recently announced he would soon be retiring.
Bryant revealed his decision earlier this week to walk away from basketball at the end of the season having won five NBA titles and two Olympic gold medals in a hugely successful career.
The 37-year-old has been at the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years but his last three seasons have ended early due to injuries.
Basketball fans from all over the world have been expressing their respect for the top scorer in Lakers history and it seems Messi is one of his biggest supporters.
The Barcelona superstar and four-time World Player of the Year wrote on his Facebook page: "It's always sad to hear when a sportsman is retiring.
"But Kobe Bryant will always be in the history books as one of the greatest. It was he who helped me become interested in basketball. All the best in the next stage of your life, Kobe."
Messi and Bryant starred together in a commercial for Turkish Airlines in 2013 that was named "Ad of the Decade" by YouTube earlier this year.
Bryant announced his retirement in a post on The Players' Tribune on Sunday, writing a poem titled "Dear Basketball."
He wrote: "My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind. But my body knows it's time to say goodbye."
