Benfica coach Jorge Jesus says Diego Maradona was the greatest and you cannot compare his passion for the game to today’s superstars like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Argentinian football legend passed away at the age of 60 last week.
Jesus was speaking during a pre-match conference, as Benfica prepare to host Maritime in the Portuguese top-flight.
According to ESPN, Jesus said that Maradona’s passion for the game was unparalleled, and this generation’s stars don’t have that same feeling.
“In my opinion, Maradona was the greatest player in history, with Pelé,” Jesus was quoted as saying.
“Pelé is still here, he is alive.”
“Maradona was the greatest, not only for what he was as a genius and player, but for the way he showed. That made the difference to me.”
“He was a world top, but he had a passion for the game, he was born to be a football player, he was born with everything.”
“It is not a worked product, he was born that way. Love, all the feeling he had with the ball.”
“Now days, between the 2 best in the world, Ronaldo has a little bit of that, Messi has nothing. He has nothing … of passion. He is a great player.”
“Be careful not to misinterpret. As for Messi, we are talking about what life and feeling is about, having a passion for the game and football.”
“I think Maradona was even prominent in this regard in relation to other.”
