Maradona Names His GOAT Ignoring Ronaldo And Messi

Argentine legend, Diego Maradona has named the best player in history, a list which doesn’t include the best players of the decade, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

As was expected, his greatest rival, Brazilian legend Pele doesn’t also feature in the list.

The Argentine legend and former Napoli man has named his fellow Argentine, Alfredo Di Stefano ahead of Pele, his fellow compatriot, Messi and Portugal’s Ronaldo.

The former Napoli player who is now head coach at Gimnasia de La Plata, is often listed among the best players to have ever kicked a ball considering his exploits for Barcelona, Napoli and Argentina.

And while the former forward feels he has done quite enough to deserve a place in  that list, he opines that a different South American should top the chart for the best of all time. He goes further by accusing Pele of ignoring the undeniable quality of Alfredo Di Stefano.

“I think the best was Di Stefano,” the Argentina boss told TyC Sports’ Libero. “He was superior to everyone – even me.

“Pele didn’t want to recognise Di Stefano’s talents. Pele’s friends invented a trophy especially for him for being a living legend of football. I even beat Pele in Rio for being the best in history!”

Like all top football icons, Maradona played against some of the most talented players of his time and was asked to name the best shirt he swapped with another player. He was also asked to name the team-mate he found was the easiest to play alongside.

“The best shirts I swapped were with Gullit and Van Basten when they were at AC Milan,” he said. “The player who I connected best with was [former Napoli striker] Careca.”

While Messi picked up a record sixth Balon D’Or, Maradona passed a comment on how many he could have won if he played in the present time.

“I think I’d have quite a few [Ballons d’Or],” Maradona said, “but what Messi is doing is outstanding. I would never like to face Messi – not ever. The lad comes home, plays football, doesn’t sing the national anthem and they say he’s Catalan. I don’t criticise Messi [like some others do].”

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