Maradona claims Lionel Messi’s toilet habits prevent him from being a leader

Diego Maradona is not one for sensationalist statements

The Argentina legend is known for - if nothing else - his measured temperament and utter refusal to engage in controversial behaviour. Just joking, Diego loves talking shit and he lives for drama. He will essentially say anything about absolutely anything if he feels like it will make headlines and you know what? More power to him. The things that he is willing to talk about extend from politics to the universe and yes, even football, such as his comments about Lionel Messi this week. Diego has generally been supportive of Messi at every opportunity in the past, defending him from criticism back in their native Argentina, where the Barcelona star has been a scapegoat for the country's failure to achieve anything of note on the international stage. But speaking on television this week, he appeared to inadvertently criticise his fellow legend. "Messi is a great player but he doesn't get it. Before speaking to the manager, he will be on the PlayStation and then on the field, he asks to be and wants to be the leader. He is the best in the world along with Cristiano," said Maradona. "It's useless to make a leader of a guy who goes to the bathroom 20 times before a game. Don't worship Messi anymore. Messi at Barcelona is one thing and with Argentina he is another one. "I wouldn't call Messi [for the national team] but never say never. You have to take the pressure off him in order to get the leader we want Messi to be, that he will not be. You say to Messi to 'throw yourself in head first' but he prefers to play video games."