Lionel Messi's family hits back at Maradona following his attack on Barcelona star

What's the story?

Lionel Messi's family has reportedly hit out at Diego Maradona after the Argentinian legend launched a scathing attack on the Barcelona star recently.

Maradona recently targetted his countryman Messi, insisting that the Barcelona forward is not a leader and that he would not call the 31-year-old up for international duty if he was the manager of the national team.

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Speaking to FOX Sports, Maradona said, "We shouldn’t deify Messi any longer."

"He’s Messi when he plays for Barcelona. Messi is Messi when he wears that shirt and he’s another Messi with Argentina."

"Messi's a great player, but he's not a leader," Maradona added.

"Before talking to the coach and players, he'll play on the PlayStation. Then, on the pitch, he wants to be the leader. He's the best along with Cristiano Ronaldo but for me, it's pointless to make a leader out of a man who goes to the bathroom 20 times before a match."

Messi has had a dismal run with his national team so far, failing to replicate his form for Barcelona in an Argentina shirt.

The closest semblance of success that Messi has achieved with his national team was in 2014 when he led the side to the finals of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil where they lost to Germany.

The latest of Argentina's failures came in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which prompted the ace to take a break from international duty.

The heart of the matter

Messi’s family has now replied to Maradona's comments on the Barcelona forward, with the star's cousin Maxi Biancucchi branding Maradona “ignorant”.

Biancucchi said, "It's sad to see how someone who boasts of being a leader can talk so badly about a player who's currently the best we've got and will probably be so for a long time yet."

"And he's done it at a time when he should be helping to rebuild if he loves the national side as he says he does."

What's next?

Maradona's comments have been met with a mixed reaction in Argentina, where Messi is mostly idolized. However, he has also been on the receiving end of some criticism, especially after his exploits for the country in the World Cup.

Whether the Barcelona forward will return to the Argentina team after his break remains to be seen.