Diego Maradona's son has taken aim at comparisons between his father and current Argentina star Lionel Messi after the Albiceleste began their World Cup campaign with a defeat.
Messi put Lionel Scaloni's men in front against Saudi Arabia and had another goal ruled out for offside - one of three Argentina efforts chalked off. The South American side dominated the first half, only for Herve Renard's underdogs to complete a stunning second half turnaround to claim victory.
Ahead of the tournament, some have been likening Messi to legendary forward Maradona, who died in 2020 at the age of 60. However, while the former Napoli star inspired Argentina to victory at the 1986 World Cup, Messi is still yet to win the competition.
"The comparison between Messi and my dad is made by those who don't see and don't understand football," Diego Maradona Jr. told Radio Marte (via Marca ). "We're talking about two different planets, but I don't want to immediately throw the cross at Lionel.
"I am devastated by this defeat," added the star's son, who was born in Italy but considers himself an Argentina fan. "I find it hard to believe that all this really happened.
"Losing to Saudi Arabia is crazy. They were quite scared. Football is like that. They come to you. Sometimes it happens that you lose even against much weaker opponents."
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Saudi Arabia's win over Argentina was their first against a South American opponent at any World Cup. Salah Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari scored the goals in their famous victory, ending Argentina's 36-match unbeaten run and prompting Messi to issue a blunt response.
"In five minutes of errors we lost the lead and found ourselves 1-2 down," the Paris Saint-Germain star said. "We messed up, we threw crosses into the box and the game became a little complicated."
"We knew that it was a team that if we let them play, they played well and that they pushed us a lot with their high (defensive) line. I had never suffered such a hard blow with this group of players. Things happen for a reason. Now, obviously, we have to win or win (to get through the group)."
The defeat is damaging for Argentina, but is not the end of the world. Spain won the World Cup in 2010 after losing their first game, while Argentina themselves made the final in 1990 after losing their opener.
Next up for Argentina is a meeting with Mexico on Saturday, followed by a potentially crucial game against Poland. Mexico and Poland drew in their opening match, with Memo Ochoa saving a penalty from Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski.
