Former Argentina striker, Gabriel Batistuta, has claimed that the late football icon, Diego Maradona died like a dog.
Batistuta insisted that Maradona’s family used him to become wealthy, adding that he hope it doesn’t happen to Argentina captain Lionel Messi.
He stated this in a recent interview with Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand.
According to him, Maradona’s family made a mistake as they failed to keep track of him when growing up as a teenager.
“His problem was that Maradona was already famous when he was six years old. His family wasn’t wealthy and they saw in him a way to escape from that situation,” Batistuta said.
“And I don’t blame anybody. Nobody said no to him when he was young. Everything was okay. That was a big mistake.
“It’s a shame because he was a great person, and he died alone. Nobody was with him. He died like a dog. We didn’t do much for him. And that is something that I don’t like to think about, because I blame myself too, because I was one of his supporters.
“I hope it doesn’t happen to Messi. Because when they are there [at the top], you don’t see that they have problems. You think they are okay. They have everything. They don’t cry.”
Maradona died due to a cardiac arrest at his home in November 2020.