'I'm gay,' tweets Casillas; 'Tell our story,' replies Puyol; 'Just rumours,' say Spanish press

Retired Spanish football great Iker Casillas is back in the news for a mysterious tweet that he deleted an hour later.

The world cup winner's tweet in Spanish translated to: "I hope you respect me: I'm gay."

Adding to the mystery, his former teammate and another legend of Spanish football, Carles Puyol replied: "It's time to tell our story, Iker." He also left heart and blowing kisses emojis at the end of his tweet.

Even as the iconic goalkeeper has not come out to explain his tweet or his subsequent reaction, reports from Spain indicate that he was merely responding to rumours regarding his relationships.

Spanish media outlet AS has claimed that Casillas' tweet was an answer to the rumours that he was in a relationship with actor Alejanndra Onieva.

Casillas split from his wife Sara Carbonero last March. There were several rumours regarding his dating life that reportedly upset Casillas.