Eduardo Di Baia/Associated PressBarcelona superstar Lionel Messi paid tribute to soccer legend Diego Maradona following his death Wednesday.
Messi posted two photos of himself with Maradona on Instagram with a caption written in Spanish. As part of the post, Messi wrote that Maradona is "eternal."
B/R Football @brfootballMessi's tribute to Maradona: "He leaves us but he isn't going anywhere, because Diego is eternal.” ❤️ https://t.co/ccTABxApH3
Maradona's agent, Matias Morla, told EFE that Maradona died of a heart attack at the age of 60 (h/t ESPN).
Messi and Maradona are widely regarded as the two biggest stars and most successful players in the history of Argentine soccer.
Maradona notably captained Argentina to a FIFA World Cup triumph in 1986 and led his country to the World Cup final in 1990 as well. His 34 international goals rank fifth for Argentina, and he also managed the national team from 2008-10.
Additionally, Maradona scored 312 goals during his club career, including 38 with Barca and 115 for Italian side Napoli, where he helped capture two Serie A titles.
Messi holds the Argentina record with 71 goals and has scored a remarkable 640 times for Barcelona since 2004, making him arguably the greatest soccer player of all time.
While Messi did help lead Argentina to the World Cup final in 2014, they fell 1-0 to Germany on a goal by Mario Gotze in the 113th minute.
Messi was viewed as the player who would take the torch from Maradona and become the next legendary Argentine soccer player, and there is no question he has accomplished that feat.
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