The world lost another icon as Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona recently died of a heart attack at the age of 60. His fellow countryman in Barcelona main man Lionel Messi proceeded to pay a fitting tribute to the late pioneer after scoring a goal at the 73rd mark of a La Liga game against Osasuna, as per Roger Bennett.
Newell's Old Boys is the club Messi, a lifelong fan, joined as a 6-year old, and that Maradona played for at the tailend of his career. Football as human poetry. A reminder we are all on the conveyor-belt of life pic.twitter.com/p5G49OnQ4e
â roger bennett (@rogbennett) November 29, 2020
The 33-year-old forward took off his Barcelona jersey to reveal a Newell's Old Boys kit, an Argentine club where Messi first started his football career. He attended the Old Boy's youth team at the age of six back in 1994 and stayed until the year 2000 before he went on to take his talents to Barcelona's developmental program.
Article Continues BelowCoincidentally, it was also the same club where Maradona played from 1993 to 1994 where he garnered a total of five appearances on the field. He proceeded to his final destination of playing at Boca Juniors from 1995 to 1997 where he ultimately hanged his cleats afterward.
Highly regarded as one of the greatest players to ever grace the sport, Diego Maradona has contributed to the progression of the game and inspired countless players including Lionel Messi over the years. He made his mark as a mainstay on the Argentine national team where he played from 1977 to 1994 with a total of 91 appearances and 34 goals scored.
Maradona's most iconic moment was made back in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England where he scored his controversial âHand of Godâ goal. The unpenalized score eventually became the trademark of his longstanding career and cemented his legacy in soccer.