Quotes & Sayings About Maradona

Messi is the best player ever. And this is said by someone who has seen Maradona and Pele play. — Adriano Galliani

He is the best. The best in the world, yes. Probably the best ever. I saw Maradona a couple of times. I never saw Pele. But Cristiano is amazing. This man is the best ... Cristiano is a goals machine. He is an incredible player. He is like Zidane, there will never be another Ronaldo. — Jose Mourinho

The myth about me as a footballer has grown: I am now the lost Maradona of Norway. — Jo Nesbo

Messi is a genius. He has everything. When I watch him, I see a player who is very, very, skilful, very clever and his left foot is like Diego Maradona's. — Franz Beckenbauer

Sometimes I think that my whole life is on film, that my whole life is in print. But it's not like that. There are things which are only in my heart-that no one knows. At last I have decided to tell everything." Diego Maradona — Diego Armando Maradona

Everybody in Argentina can remember 'the hand of God' in the England match in the 1986 World Cup. Now, in my country, the 'hand of God' has brought us an Argentinian pope. — Diego Maradona

Messi scores a goal and celebrates. Cristiano scores a goal and poses like he's in a shampoo commercial. — Diego Maradona

For such a small man Maradona gets great elevation on his balls — David Pleat

I am not Pele or Maradona — Robbie Savage

I was waiting for my teammates to embrace me and no one came, ... I told them, 'Come hug me or the referee isn't going to allow it.' — Diego Maradona

Diego (Maradona) has filled us with emotions. But between the cracks, without doubt, Messi is better than Maradona. — Diego Simeone

The Manchester Derby is bigger and more important than El Classico. — Diego Maradona

Something that just came out of me. It was a bit of mischief. — Diego Maradona

I'll be too old to face a difficult championship as the one in America will surely be. — Diego Maradona

If you don't want to play clean football then go up into the stands. — Diego Maradona

The Lord helps those who help themselves. — Diego Maradona

Stoichkov is a great person and an exceptional player ... Only if we had him at Napoli ... can you imagine the Stoichkov-Maradona attacking duo? — Diego Maradona

The goal was scored a little bit by the hand of God, another bit by the head of Maradona. — Diego Maradona

I've been around some very famous people, but no one has the effect Maradona has; people tremble in his presence. — Emir Kusturica

Only two players made me cry when watching football, one was Diego Maradona and the other Ryan Giggs. — Alessandro Del Piero

When I finished with him [Maradona] he was like a racing colt. — Jimmy Burns

Messi is the best player of all time. Better than Pele, better than Maradona and better than anyone else. — Adriano Galliani

I have cried twice in my life watching a football player; the first one was Maradona and the second was Ryan Giggs. — Alessandro Del Piero

When God decides its time, I guess he'll come for us. — Diego Maradona

Money is not a motivating factor. I do what comes to me at that moment. — Diego Maradona

It's not that difficult to play well and win titles in a team like Barcelona, but it's in the national side where you see a player's true class. That was the case with figures like Pele, Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane. With Spain, Iniesta has shown that he is among the best players of all time and that's why I rate him higher than Messi or Ronaldo. Even though the latter two have incredible scoring records for their clubs, they still haven't won anything with Argentina or Portugal respectively. — Boris Becker

Many people agree with me that many things are not clear in football these days and it is not something people who watch football deserve. The situation will be the same while football is run by people who do not understand football. — Diego Maradona

Messi I think is like me, he is the best in the world along with Ronaldinho. — Diego Maradona

My legitimate kids are Dalma and Giannina. The rest are a product of my money and mistakes. — Diego Maradona

I gave all I had. Now I want to enjoy my family. — Diego Maradona

Many years ago when I first started my career Maradona told me "to enjoy and play as you know", and that's stayed with me ever since and is the best advice I've been given. — Lionel Messi

You can say a lot of things about me, but you can never say I don't take risks. — Diego Maradona

I had my footballing heroes such as Bryan Robson and Diego Maradona but my dad was a rugby league star, and he was my real hero. But the relationship with my mum was rocky and we saw things that would affect any youngster. — Ryan Giggs

To see the ball, to run after it, makes me the happiest man in the world. — Diego Maradona

Messi is undoubtedly a gifted footballer, like Maradona and Pele, and he's playing for the best club side in the world at the moment. He's successful and he's winning trophies, so it's only logical that he'll be voted the best player in the world. — Oliver Kahn

When people succeed, it is because of hard work. Luck has nothing to do with success. — Diego Maradona

The problem is that they are all stars at Madrid. You need someone to carry the water to the well. — Diego Maradona

I was a big fan of Maradona growing up and of the current crop Ronaldo is good but Messi is the best I've ever seen. I don't dish out praise lightly but Messi deserves it. I look for weaknesses in his game and I can't find them. — Roy Keane

I like English football, always have. It's just that people go on about the World Cup in 1986 and then I'm seen as the real bad boy. — Diego Maradona

I have played against (Michel) Platini, (Diego) Maradona, (Johan) Cruyff and played with George Best - a lot of big names, but none of them has been able to do what Messi does. Two years ago I said that the best player I played against was Maradona and the best player I have played with was Bestie. But I can now say I have never seen a player as good as Messi. He's in a league of his own. — John Terry

Even if I played for a million years, I'd never come close to Maradona. Not that I'd want to anyway. He's the greatest there's ever been. — Lionel

While the coach is entitled to celebrate the team's victories, there is a manner and a way of doing so without aggravating the opponent. — Diego Maradona

I wanted to be a soccer player, and I became the best of the best, the number one, better than Maradona, better than Pele, and even better than Messi - but only at night, nighttime, during my dreams. When I wake up, I realized that I have wooden legs and that I'm doomed to be a writer. — Eduardo Galeano

You were only a goalkeeper. — Diego Maradona

What I love most about Norway is you ladies. Back home I'm used to fat and hairy women journalists. — Diego Maradona

People who say that only young people voted on the Internet, those who didn't see Pele play, forget that children are not orphans. There's always a father who buys the computer and perhaps influences their vote. I won the people's vote. — Diego Maradona

I have 23 top players and they are all ready to put on the jersey and work on the pitch and that makes you happy and then you have peace of mind. — Diego Maradona

God makes me play well. That is why I always make the sign of a cross when I walk out on to the pitch. I feel I would be betraying him if I didn't. — Diego Maradona

6. ANDRES INIESTA - SPAIN (No matter what they say six is better than seven) 5. DAVID BECKHAM - ENGLAND (High five!) 4. KAKA - BRAZIL (I'm number four on the list but number one in your heart) 3. DIEGO MARADONA - ARGENTINA (I'm the trifecta!) 2. LIONEL MESSI - ARGENTINA (Watch out I'm right behind you.) 1. PELE - BRAZIL (Knock knock, who's there? Best, Best who, Best Ever) — Alex Trost

I'd give my life to be the national team coach. — Diego Maradona

As a boy, I wanted to be the Peruvian Diego Maradona. Sadly, Peru hasn't made the World Cup since 1982, so I guess I did well to choose something different. — Daniel Alarcon

There would be no debate about who was the best footballer the world had ever seen - me or Pele. Everyone would say me. — Diego Maradona

Messi. 86 goals in calendar year and still 3 games to play! Best to ever play the game in my opinion just edges Maradona. — Joey Barton

He has been named as the heir apparent of the great Argentine hero, Diego Maradona, by journalists, players, and Maradona himself, alike. I'd personally put him in a drawer of my bedside table. — Franz Beckenbauer

It was as if we had beaten a country, more than just a football team. — Diego Maradona

I hate everything that comes from the United States. I hate it with all my strength. — Diego Maradona

I was, I am and I always will be a drug addict. A person who gets involved in drugs has to fight it everyday. — Diego Maradona

I find it embarrassing when people compare me to Maradona. How can they? There is only one Maradona. People who say this just have no idea, they don't know what they are talking about. Diego was a complete one-off who will never have an equal on the football pitch. No-one, I repeat no-one, could have transformed teams like he did. Maradona was the world's greatest-ever player while I'm just an apprentice. — Sergio Aguero

My mother thinks I am the best. And I was raised to always believe what my mother tells me. — Diego Maradona

If I could apologise and go back and change history I would do. But the goal is still a goal, Argentina became world champions and I was the best player in the world. — Diego Maradona

Beckham is a nice man and I'm sure he will reach 100 appearances for England. But he is just a good player, nothing more. — Diego Maradona

You can keep all your Bests, Peles and Maradonas, Duncan Edwards was the greatest of them all. — Tommy Docherty

To see my country lose a football match is very hard for someone who has worn the shirt. — Diego Maradona

Things are neither clear nor clean in the world of football right now and many people recognise this reality. — Diego Maradona

Leo [Messi] is the best player of all time - better than Pele, Maradona or Cruyff. There have been some great teams in history - Pele's Brazil, Cruyff's Ajax, Sacchi's Milan - but in the past 20 years this Barcelona team is the best. — Xavi

I have seen the player who will inherit my place in Argentine football and his name is Messi. Messi is a genius. — Diego Maradona

I am black or white, I'll never be grey in my life. — Diego Maradona

When I wear the national team shirt, its sole contact with my skin makes it stand on an end. — Diego Maradona

At the moment there are some England players who are the stars of their club teams, but not for their country. It's difficult to explain. — Diego Maradona

When you win, you don't get carried away. But if you go step by step, with confidence, you can go far. — Diego Maradona

I certainly have an advantage over some because I can pass on so much from the World Cups I played in. — Diego Maradona

There are hundreds of Beckhams playing football all over the world. — Diego Maradona

Pele should go back to the museum. — Diego Maradona

What differences were there between Maradona and Platini? — Michel Patini

I see Maradona every time he grabs the ball and accelerates. — Pep Guardiola

Even if there was a hand, it was the hand of God. — Diego Maradona

Messi is the best that's played the game. Streets ahead of Maradona. — Joey Barton

I don't think there is anybody bigger or smaller than Maradona. — Kevin Keegan

For 20 years they have asked me the same question, who is the greatest? Pele or Maradona? I replay that all you have to do is look at the facts - how many goals did he score with his right foot or with his head? — Pele

I am Maradona, who makes goals, who makes mistakes. I can take it all, I have shoulders big enough to fight with everybody. — Diego Maradona

He's a leader and is offering lessons in beautiful football. He has something different to any other player in the world. — Diego Maradona

I'm alive and I want to keep living. — Diego Maradona

I'm not desperate but I know that some day I'll be the coach again of some team. — Diego Maradona

In the end, it is about whether God wants us to be in the final, but I know that is what God wants. This time we will not need the Hand of God, because it is the will of God. — Diego Maradona

What Zidane can do with a football, Maradona could do with an orange. — Michel Patini

America Is A Gun

England is a cup of tea.
France, a wheel of ripened brie.
Greece, a short, squat olive tree.
America is a gun.

Brazil is football on the sand.
Argentina, Maradona's hand.
Germany, an oompah band.
America is a gun.

Holland is a wooden shoe.
Hungary, a goulash stew.
Australia, a kangaroo.
America is a gun.

Japan is a thermal spring.
Scotland is a highland fling.
Oh, better to be anything
than America as a gun. — Brian Bilston

The best of all was Pele, who is a mixture of Di Stefano, Maradona, Cruyff and Leo Messi. — Osvaldo Ardiles

I'm a Pele fan from way back when I was a kid, and then there was always this thing later about Pele and Maradona. I was young and impressionable as a kid but it was always Pele for me. — Alex Ferguson

All the people that criticised me should eat their words. — Diego Maradona

The last player I truly idolize ... No other footballer is more worthy of the number 10 shirt than him.
(on Maradona) — Hristo Stoichkov

Critics have always questioned whether players like Pele from the 50s could play today. Lionel Messi could play in the 1950s and the present day, as could Di Stefano, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff because they are all great players. Lionel Messi without question fits into that category. — Alex Ferguson

He is an exceptional talent. I still think Diego Maradona is the best player I have ever seen but Messi is closing in fast. He's a wonderful sight in full flight and we are lucky to have him around. — Ander Herrera

Of course in the first matches you are more careful, perhaps more careful than you should be. — Diego Maradona