AS Roma legend, Francesco Totti has rated late football icon Diego Maradona as the best player in the world ahead of Lionel Messi.
The former Italy international said this following Argentina’s 2022 World Cup final fixture against France on Sunday.
Maradona, who passed away at the age of 60 in November 2020, is regarded as the best Argentine player ever for his contributions in the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
He led his nation to their second world triumph with five goals and five assists in seven appearances.
Appearing in his fifth and final FIFA World Cup, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is currently on a mission to end Argentina’s 36-year wait for the prestigious trophy. So far, he has scored five goals and contributed three assists in six matches for Lionel Scaloni’s side, the joint-best in the tournament.
Speaking on Bepi TV, Totti said Maradona is still better than the Paris Saint-Germain forward.
“Maradona is football for me. Messi is the best player in the world right now but he is still beneath Diego,” Totti told Bepi TV.
Totti, who guided Italy to their fourth FIFA World Cup triumph in 2006, shed light on the feeling of lifting the eminent trophy. He said:
He added, “Winning the World Cup is something you carry with you for the rest of your life. I think the Italy side of 2006 would certainly have been at least in the top four at Qatar in 2022.”
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Two men, small in stature, large in footballing ability.
Argentina’s most famous number tens.
One has won a world cup, the other almost has his hands on the trophy.
Almost.
All Messi requires is a world cup trophy to pass Maradona as the best Argentinian player ever.
Tale of the tape:
Maradona, 90 caps, 34 goals, 4 world cup competitions, 1 win
Messi, 171 caps, 96 goals, 5 world cup competitions, 0 wins – yet
But for the greatest of all time will always be Pele,
Pele, 92 caps, 77 goals, 3 world cup wins in 4 appearances, nobody has come close since he retired from international football in 1971