Diego Maradona continues to provide colossal off-field interest during the World Cup, this time apologising to Spain captain Sergio Ramos for questioning his star player ability and suggesting Uruguayan Diego Godin is a better player.
The notorious Argentine spoke about Ramos at the beginning of the tournament and said: "they told me: ‘Ramos is a star,’ No, Godín is a star that defends you, that rules, that creates you a goal, who is a champion, that does not miss a game."
Ramos responded after Spain's 1-0 win over Iran by questioning Maradona's ability as a player.
In Argentina they know that Maradona is light years away from the best Argentine player in history which, for me, is Lionel Messi.
This week, Maradona prompted concern for his health when he had to be helped from the stadium and required treatment after his nation's 2-1 win over Nigeria. In the aftermath FIFA publicly declared that Maradona must 'behave in a respectful manner.' As a FIFA ambassador, Maradona holds regular press briefings during the tournament and when speaking to the Spanish press last night, doubled down on his claim but did apologise.
If Sergio Ramos wants, I apologize, but I will not change my purely football thinking: he is a great player, a great captain, he can become a good leader, as we see in Real Madrid ... but for me It is not crack! To me, you know well, I do not care what they say and I think freely. Therefore, if Sergio was offended, I apologize, but I still think in the same way.
When asked to clarify who was a 'crack' Maradona claimed both Xavi and Iniesta were perfect examples.
As for Ramos, his Spanish side face tournament hosts Russia tomorrow.
