Is there a rift between Argentinian legends Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona? Messi didn’t exactly trash his former national team coach, but did admit the two haven’t spoken in nearly six years.
“We haven’t spoken in a long time, since the World Cup [2010] we may have crossed paths once or twice,” Messi said in Spanish on Egyptian TV. “He has his life, his things and I have mine. We haven’t spoken at all. Considering that we don’t speak to each other, I have a great relationship with him.”
In the 2010 World Cup, Argentina made an early exit at the quarterfinals with Maradona calling the shots from the sideline. Sergio Batista took over as manager of the national team for Argentina following the disappointing World Cup run. Argentina roared back in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with a run to the World Cup Final, but Messi and company came up on the wrong end of a 1-0, extra time thriller against Germany.
Messi has typically been stacked up and compared against the success of Maradona as a player. On the club level, Messi has been one of the biggest stars in the world, but his national success continues to try and match that of Maradona’s career.
Maradona won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986, and the side was the runner-up to West Germany in 1990. He also scored 34 goals in his 91 caps for his country. Messi has scored a total of 65 goals with Argentina in 129 games, but he hasn’t won a major trophy with his country, finishing as the Copa America runner-up in 2007 and 2015 and the World Cup runner-up to Germany in 2014.
In terms of their respective club careers, it’s a no contest. Messi has won 26 trophies with FC Barcelona, while Maradona won a total of nine trophies with his clubs over his entire career.
[ESPNFC]
