Maradona partial to Messi, but dubs Cristiano ‘incredible’

BUENOS AIRES — Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona said on Monday he prefers compatriot Lionel Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo, but still dubbed the Portugal captain an “incredible” player.

“I can’t remember having seen Lionel Messi play badly,” Maradona told TyCSports on Monday.

“I prefer Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo but I acknowledge that the latter is an animal. He’s incredible,” said the 1986 World Cup winner.

Speaking from Dubai, where he now lives and coaches Al-Fujairah, Maradona added he had wished Ronaldo, who is Portuguese, was an Argentine.

“He makes me think of Gabriel Batistuta,” Maradona said, referring to the striker who starred for Argentina in three World Cup finals. “As soon as Gabriel touched the ball, it was a goal.”

Maradona said Barcelona’s Messi is still the best player in the world, despite not having won a World Cup.

“Alone, he will not be able to win the World Cup. You need a solid team for that,” he said.

“Football history will remember Messi. The game has given him a lot, as much as he has given the sport. To win a World Cup, in my opinion, wouldn’t bring himself anything else.”

Meanwhile, Maradona criti- cized the appointment of Jorge Sampaoli as Argentina coach, saying the Copa America-winning manager was no better than his disappointing predecessor.

Sampaoli took over as Argentina coach earlier this month in place of Edgardo Bauza, who was dismissed after managing just three wins in eight matches.

The 57-year-old Sampaoli has led Argentina to victory in his first two games — but that’s not good enough for Maradona.

“Sampaoli doesn’t know any more than Bauza,” Maradona said.

“If he (Sampaoli) hadn’t beaten us in the (2015 Copa America) final (while coaching Chile) then not even his family would know who he was.”

Maradona also vented his anger over Sampaoli’s decision to leave out Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero for the friendlies against Brazil and Singapore.

“It was madness leaving out Kun (Aguero). Kun gives you much more speed, he brings electricity,” he said.

Maradona was hurt that Sampaoli invited him to Sevilla when he was coaching the Spanish team but did not follow through on an invitation to honor the 1986 World Cup winner, who played for Sevilla near the end of his career, with a tribute game.

“Sampaoli was fake in his dealings with me,” Maradona said.

“He told me they were going to give me a tribute in Seville. Then the national team came up and I never heard any more from him.”

I prefer Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo but I acknowledge that the latter is an animal.” Diego Maradona