Diego Maradona: From Being A Cocaine Addict To Declaring 'Messi Lacks Personality', These Are The Legend's Most Controversial Moments

Diego Maradona was a legend of football but his actions outside the field have caused many a controversy. Take a look at why there was once a sentiment of dislike for the iconic footballer.

(Photo by JORGE DURAN / AFP)

Diego Maradona Death: Diego Maradona, widely regarded as one of the greatest and most controversial footballers of all time, has died at the age of 60. There are entire generations of people that support Argentina because of this man. Maradona - a fiery, indomitable personality, a man so drastically different in his world view from Brazil's beloved Pele - was an unstoppable force on his course to reaching the very top of the game. Diego Maradona was a magician with the ball at his feet – one of the best ever, if not the best – but apart from that, he was perhaps the one who was surrounded by most of the controversies. These are some moments that showed his flamboyant nature and attracted controversies which could be a nightmare for other footballers.

Cocaine addiction

Substance abuse hampered the enigmatic Maradona's career and it was traced back to 1982 when he started substance abuse. While playing for Napoli, he became a regular user of cocaine and that impacted his play. In 1991, he was handed a 15-month ban for a testing positive while at Napoli. In the 1994 World Cup, he was sent back home after failing a drug test.

Out of control

Maradona had to be treated by paramedics following Argentina’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup. He had earlier been filmed manically celebrating Marcos Rojo’s late winning goal and swearing at supporters. As television cameras swung his way, seconds after the ball hit the back of Nigeria’s net, Maradona thrust middle-finger gestures with both hands. He was accused of making a racist gesture by ITV presenter Jacqui Oatley while watching the 1-1 draw between Argentina and Iceland a week before.

Disastrous comments for Argentines

A Maradona-led Argentina were under pressure through their qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup but they eventually secured their place by beating Uruguay 1-0. Maradona could not hide his delight at this result and, after the game, was caught making a rather offensive gesture outside a window of their team bus, which can be named as a 'chupar'. Just as you thought it could not get any more controversial, during his post-match press conference he said: "They can suck it and carry on sucking it. This is for all Argentines, minus the journalists."

The Famous Maradona-Pele rivalry

The two players who many call the two greatest players of all-time, Pele and Maradona, have never really seen eye to eye and have had heated exchanges in the past. One of these was in the lead-up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which started when Pele called Maradona a "bad role model" because of his past use of recreational drugs. Though Maradona responded with a shameful comment against Pele, after Diego passed away on Wednesday, iconic Pele said, "I lost a great friend and the world lost a legend. There is still much to be said, but for now, may God give strength to family members. One day, I hope we can play ball together in the sky.”

Messi lacks personality

Diego Maradona had claimed that Lionel Messi lacked the character to be a leader. Maradona was caught on microphone discussing the Barcelona star with Brazil legend Pele at a publicity event in Paris.

Pele asked his fellow World Cup winner if he knows his compatriot personally, prompting Maradona to offer an unguarded response.

"He's a really good person, but he has no personality," Maradona said. "He lacks [the] character to be a leader."

Criticising Messi for retiring

After losing three finals in a row, Messi had had enough and decided to announce retirement from international football. He did, however, make a comeback after a few months, much to the relief of Argentina fans.

Diego Maradona, meanwhile, wasn’t pleased. The former Argentina captain suggested that the whole act could have been staged while also adding that the reaction of Messi was uncalled for since he was not the one to be blamed for the loss. "I don't know whether this was staged to make us understand that he'd lost three finals, but we never lost by big margins. Maradona is survived by his daughters Dalma and Gianinna, who was previously married to Sergio Aguero, son Diego and ex-wife Claudia Villafane.