Nothing brings a smile to the face of supporters quite as effectively as a demonstration of respect and admiration from one of their favourite stars to another.

Simultaneously, no other competition in club football is capable of consistently igniting the same passion and thrill factor as the Champions League.

The excitement then when Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas exchanged messages of support on Twitter in the aftermath of the tournament’s last 16 draw in December which pitted Juventus and Porto against each other, was entirely justified.