Football legends, Argentina’s Diego Maradona and Brazil’s Pele have admitted that Barcelona star, Lionel Messi lacks the personality to carry a team.
Diego Maradona made this shock admission on Thursday while in Paris along with fellow football legends to participate in a promotional event for the European Championship.
It was Pele, who was also in attendance, that asked Maradona what he thought about the Barcelona forward and Maradona said, “He’s a really good person, but he has no personality. He lacks [the] character to be a leader.”
Pele then responded: “Ah, I get it, he’s not like we were back in the days. In the ’70s we [Brazil] had really good players like Rivellino, Gerson, Tostao.
“Not like Argentina now, which depends only on Messi. He [Maradona] is saying that Messi is a good player, there’s no doubt about it, but he has no personality.”
Meanwhile, Maradona has glowing words for Messi’s Real Madrid rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, who he has tipped to be the headliner of Euro 2016.
“Cristiano without a doubt, is the star,” he said. “He’s one of those players who can single-handedly put his team in the final. He is football culture. Anyone who likes football, likes Cristiano.”
Maradona said that a player of Ronaldo’s stature would not feel pressure.
“Pressure? I don’t think a player of his experience is under pressure in a tournament,” he said. “The ones who should feel pressure are the defences that have to mark him in the game.”
ESPN reports that Messi, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has frequently been compared with Maradona throughout his career and often criticised because the Albiceleste have not won any major titles with the Barcelona star leading their attack.
Maradona led the Argentines to World Cup glory in 1986. Messi, meanwhile, missed out on the World Cup in 2014 with a disappointing loss to Germany in the final.
Messi missed the opener of the Copa America for his country earlier this week but is fit to face Panama on Friday as he recovers from a back injury.
Over a 21-year club career, Maradona won league titles with Boca Juniors in Argentina and Serie A giants Napoli. Messi has won seven La Liga crowns, four Champions League titles and three Copa del Rey titles.