When sports pundits talk about talented football players these days, they often use terms such as “the new Messi” or the “new Ronaldo.” However, when both athletes began their careers, there was only a name in the Olympus of football – Diego Maradona, writes Reuters.
Benfica’s manager Jorge Jesus weighed in on the debate about who is the greatest player in the history of football, saying current superstars are unable to match the grandeur of Diego Maradona, who died unexpectedly last week. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are widely regarded as two of the best, if not the best, football players these days. However, Jorge Jesus strongly disagrees and says the forwards are nowhere close to Maradona.
Jesus said Maradona was also above Pele, another iconic football player, who has been dubbed the King of Football. According to the manager, the Argentine’s sublime performance can be explained by the fact that he was born a genius.
“Pele’s still here, he’s alive. Maradona was greater, not just because he was a genius, but because of how he showed it. That makes the difference for me. He was absolutely world-class, but he had a passion for the game, he was born to be a footballer, he was born with everything”, Jesus said.
