Even after rescuing the Argentinean National Team from the embarrassment of missing out on the 2018 World Cup, Jorge Sampaoli was viciously slammed by none other than Diego Armando Maradona.
In an interview with the Argentine newspaper Clarín, Maradona criticized Sampaoli's decision to leave Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero out of the team, calling up Inter Milan's striker Mauro Icardi.
"Making Icardi play against Ecuador was wrong. He should've left him back home. He was struggling with a hamstring problem. Why call him up when Higuaín was available? Yes, he missed a lot of goals, but he also scored quite a few. Furthermore, he was wrong calling up this guy and leaving out Aguero," Maradona stated.
The 1986 World Cup winner went on, calling Sampaoli "a liar" due to a previous agreement between them.
"I don't like to talk about liars. I was watching the Davis Cup final in Croatia when he called me. He asked me to put something together, so we could work side by side at Sevilla. When he got the call to coach Argentina, he forgot even my mom's name. I don't want anything to do with liars, phonies, or mediocre guys who think too highly of themselves," Maradona added.
Before the interview concluded, Maradona shared the words he exchanged with Messi during FIFA's gala last week, where "La Pulga" came in as runner up for The Best Male Player award behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
"I told him that I love him, and that he's the best. He doesn't need to win a World Cup to become one. He's one of the best ever," Maradona concluded.
