 "Messi opens up on ‘greatest idol' Maradona’s impact on football: 'Diego transcended everything'")
There are plenty of debates between football fans over the sport’s ‘GOAT’, i.e. the ‘Greatest Of All Time, both in the current generation as well as across history. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the standout footballers in the current generation who also make a strong case for inclusion in the all-time top-10.
There are also those who argue over Messi and the late Diego Maradona as to which World Cup winner made a greater impact not just on Argentine football but on the sport as a whole. Maradona had helped ‘La Albiceleste’ win football’s ultimate prize twice – in 1978 and 1986 – while Messi had fulfilled his dream of lifting the trophy four years ago in Qatar.
Messi, meanwhile, remains clear who his goat is. In a candid chat on NBC Nightly News, the Barcelona legend revealed that Maradona remains above all of his sporting idols.
“For us Argentinians, Maradona was always our greatest idol and our deepest admiration. Diego transcended everything,” Messi said on the show. “He made us love football in a completely different way.”
‘Would have liked Diego to give me the Cup’
Argentina’s triumph in the 2022 FIFA World Cup after their thrilling victory over then-defending champions France in the final had occurred more than two years after Maradona's sudden demise at the age of 60.
And for the 38-year-old superstar, who is expected to make his final appearance for Argentina in next year’s FIFA World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada, not being able to celebrate a World Cup triumph with Maradona when he was alive remains something of a regret.
“I would have liked Diego to give me the Cup, or at least to see all of this. From above, he and many people who love me were strong,” Messi added.
And while Maradona remains his greatest sporting hero, Messi also listed basketball icons Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Stephen Curry as well as tennis legends Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as some of the other superstars he has immense respect for.
“They competed for so long at the highest level and so close to each other that they made everything much greater,” he added.
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