What’s the story?
Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has come to the defense of compatriot Lionel Messi suggesting that the Barcelona superstar is unlike any other footballer he has ever seen, despite his lack of international success with La Albiceleste.
Maradona, who himself guided the South American giants to their second World Cup triumph in 1986, insists that whether the 29-year-old wins a World Cup or not does not matter as Messi is still the best player he has ever seen on a football pitch. However, that is not all, Maradona even thanked God that Messi was an Argentine and compared himself and the Barcelona superstar to the Pope.
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Speaking in an interview with TyC Sports, Maradona said: “I am not going to tolerate that people say Messi is not the phenomenon that he is because he did not win a World Cup. Messi is a great player, regardless of whether he won the World Cup or not. At the age of 56, I can say that I have never seen anyone like Messi. I thank God that Messi is an Argentine. We have Messi, the Pope and me.
“Why would we burden him with claims that he is not a phenomenon if he does not win the World Cup? I won it because I got to play with guys like [Ricardo] Giusti, [Jorge] Burruchaga, [Nery] Pumpido, [Oscar] Ruggeri and many more.”
In case you didn’t know...
Lionel Messi is one of the most successful players in the history of the game on club level but he has been bereft of success with the national team. The 29-year-old guided his side to 3 consecutive major finals – World Cup 2014, Copa America 2015 and Copa America Centenario – but faltered at the very last hurdle.
The Copa America Centenario loss was so heartbreaking for the Argentine that he even declared what seemed like a retirement from the national team. However, he did return in time to help La Albiceleste in their qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.
Maradona had criticized Messi following the Copa loss in 2016 and had questioned his leadership skills. The 56-year-old had even claimed that the Argentine lacked personality, something that legendary Brazilian forward Pele agreed on with the Argentine.
The heart of the matter
Messi has been widely criticized in his home nation for his failure to win them the World Cup in 2014 and his detractors like to bring his lack of international success whenever a conversation pertaining to him being compared to the greatest in the game ensues.
Maradona is regarded as one of the best players to have ever graced the game and is universally loved in Argentine, something which Messi has failed to enjoy in his own country. However, it can be argued that the 56-year-old had a better team than Messi, when he guided his team to their historic World Cup triumph.
What's next?
The debate over who between Messi and Maradona is better rages on and is not something that will die down anytime soon. Messi has another chance to win the World Cup if La Albiceleste qualify for the 2018 edition of the tournament. However, that is still a long way off now and the Argentine would like to focus on his quest to help his national team reach the 2018 World Cup.
Sportskeeda’s Take
A World Cup triumph is not the best barometer to measure the greatness of any footballer and regardless of whether Messi wins the World Cup or not, he will still remain one of the greatest to have ever graced the football pitch.
