Thank you everyone. Indeed, my intention was this to be a pure declaration of admiration. More so as this paper will appear in a top journal (I was a bit disingenuous describing it as "good"), and I felt it was an appropriate venue in this regard as well, to pay my respects to an exceptional mathematician that was influential for my work as well. However, the possibility that this could imply a professional connection, and viewed as such by some, is a very serious concern.