On Thursday, the staff and players of Paris Saint-Germain wished to pay tribute to Diego Maradona. Angel Di Maria, Leandro Paredes and Neymar Jr all spoke on the passing of the Argentina legend.
At the Ooredoo Centre on Thursday, the Paris Saint-Germain first team observed a minute's applause before the day's training session, in tribute to Diego Armando Maradona. A true legend of the game, the passing of the Argentine left its mark on every member of the club.
"Diego's aura was incredible"
Both Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes were shocked to the very core by the news on Wednesday afternoon and expressed their emotions to us.
"It's very sad news not only for Argentina but for the whole world. Very sad for everyone, for those of us who love football, for those of us who love Diego. Today he is resting in peace, I send my condolences and thoughts to his family. I think that the memory that we will keep of him will be of the player that was always happy and smiling when he went out on to the pitch. And everything that he was able to achieve on the pitch, he leaves behind him an incredible legacy. That's how we will remember Diego", described Leandro Paredes.
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Feelings that are shared by his international teammate, Angel Di Maria: "Yesterday was a tough day. It was a sad day... When I found out that Diego had died, I had to ask "which Diego?" because I never could have imagined that it would be Maradona. It was a shock... He was everything for us, he put Argentina right at the top. The newspapers in France, England and Argentina were all talking about the news... I woke up today and still couldn't believe it."
"I was lucky to meet him after my first match in the Argentinian top flight, he signed my shirt. Just the aura that he projected was incredible, and for football fans, he was spectacular. The first time that I saw him, I was frozen to the spot in silence. I was unable to express how I was feeling because having Diego in front of me was something incredible. His charisma, it was crazy. Later on, it was extraordinary for me to take the same shirt that he wore at Boca", reminisced Paredes, a Boca Juniors product just like El Pibe de Oro."
"He directly touched your heart"
Angel Di Maria, idolised Maradona from his early years: "In Argentina, videos of what Maradona was doing on the pitch were often shown and I watched everything. I was 6 or 7 years old, he was unique, both on and off of the pitch."
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But he also remembers the man that he experienced as Head Coach of the Argentina national side: "Thank God I was lucky enough to share a World Cup with him. He came to see me for the first time in Portugal, when I was at Benfica. I met him at the hotel, he came to see a game and then he called me up to the Argentina national team. I could not believe that he was in front of me, eating with me, I was 22 years old, I was very young... Having him in front of me was unique. He was a unique coach, with a huge personality. He used to walked into our rooms at night to talk to us about old matches... It was different from what I experienced with other coaches. It filled your heart. It made you feel stronger. I spent 20 days in a row with him at the World Cup, he always had time for us, something to say to us, or an opportunity to hug us. It was really unique."
"His legacy will always live on through football"
But Maradona's impact crossed borders, rivalries and even continents. Neymar Jr, on behalf of the whole of the footballing world sent his condolences to one of the greatest footballers ever to take to the field: "Maradona represents football. Since I fell in love with football I started to discover the names of the most important players that existed and for me, there was always Pele and Maradona."
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"It's a sad day for all football lovers. He has left us, but he leaves an incredible legacy that will always live on through football. Football thanks Diego for choosing this sport and I am happy to be able to play the same sport that he did. I think that everybody who saw him play were touched in some way or another, he brought happiness to so many people's lives and the most important thing is the legacy that he has left.", concluded the number 10.