Today’s football superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo “could not even dream” of being admired as much as Diego Maradona was, says his former Argentina team-mate Ossie Ardiles.
Three days of national mourning have begun in Argentina after Maradona died on Wednesday at the age of 60.
His body will lie in state at the Casa Rosada, the seat of the Argentina government, during that time.
“To be Diego Maradona was incredibly beautiful,” Ardiles told the BBC.
“But on the other hand, it was not easy at all. Right from a really early age, he was subject to the press all the time. He didn’t have a normal childhood, he never had normal teenage years.
“Everybody wanted to be with him, everybody wanted a piece of him, so it was incredibly difficult.”
Maradona, who played for clubs including Barcelona and Napoli, was captain when Argentina won the 1986 World Cup, scoring the famous ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in the quarter-finals.
Former Tottenham midfielder Ardiles, who played alongside Maradona at the 1982 World Cup, said he was “a god” in Argentina, in Naples and all around the world.
“He will be remembered as a genius in football,” he added. “You can see the extraordinary amount of interest that he generates.
“People like [Juventus and Portugal striker] Ronaldo, or people like [Barcelona and Argentina forward] Messi, they couldn’t even dream of having this kind of admiration.
“That was the Maradona phenomenon – all the time.”
A post-mortem examination was due to take place on Maradona’s body later on Wednesday after he died at about midday local time at his home in Tigre, near Buenos Aires.
The former Argentina attacking midfielder and manager had successful surgery on a brain blood clot earlier in November and was to be treated for alcohol dependency.
A minute’s silence took place before Wednesday’s Champions League matches and the same will happen before all other European fixtures this week.
Messi and Ronaldo were among current players to pay tribute, while Brazilian football great Pele said he hoped one day they would “play ball together in the sky”.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said Maradona “made world football better”.
“There was a banner in Argentina, one year ago, that I read that said: ‘No matter what you have done with your life, Diego, it matters what you do for our lives,'” former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Guardiola added.
“It expresses perfectly what this guy gave us. The man of joy and pleasure and his commitment for world football.”
Former Tottenham manager and Argentina defender Mauricio Pochettino said: “Broken with pain. Diego, you were my hero and friend. I was so fortunate to have shared football and life with you.”
The Vatican said Pope Francis, an Argentine and a football fan, would be remembering Maradona in his prayers.
