Lionel Messi has paid a heartfelt tribute to the football legend Diego Maradona on his fifth death anniversary.
The Argentine football player and manager passed away at the age of 60 on November 25, 2020, in Dique Luján, after suffering a fatal cardiac arrest in his sleep.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or award winner, Messi, used to adore Maradona, who also wore the number 10 jersey, while growing up. He even played under his management for the Argentina national team.
On the fifth death anniversary, the former Barcelona star shared a black and white picture of him hugging Maradona on his Instagram story. The picture is from the time when he used to play under his term as a head coach of the national team.
The fifth anniversary of the World Cup-winning forward and one of the most famous stars of football was celebrated by his fans in Argentina on Tuesday, November 25.
Besides historic achievements with the national team, he also enjoyed stellar careers at the club level in Spain with Barcelona and in Italy with Napoli.
Ahead of Napoli’s match against Qarabağ in the Champions League on Tuesday, the Italian club and football fans in the stadium paid tribute to Maradona, with the stadium announcer saying, “Napoli wants to remember you with a special video. Five years ago the greatest of all time left us.”
The video sparked chants of “Diego, Diego” and “There’s only one Maradona” in the stadium. The crowd also sang songs about him in the 10th minute, his shirt number, of the match.
Maradona, who famously led Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup, is regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time.
