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The original was posted on /r/soccer by /u/Sparky-moon on 2026-03-26 08:17:11+00:00.
Gabriel Batistuta sat down with Rio Ferdinand and gave an interview that didn’t shy away from anything. There was football, memories, and a wound that remains open. Because when Diego Maradona’s name came up, the tone changed. And he was blunt: “He died alone. No one was with him. He died like a dog.”
“Batigol” didn’t hold back. He looked back and also inward. “I cursed myself too, because I could have been one of his pillars of support. If you want to, you can help someone when they need it.” Words that carry weight. That hurt. That reveal a shared guilt. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault,” he clarified, before pointing to an environment with no brakes: “No one told him ‘no’ when he was young. Everything was fine. That was a huge mistake.”
The interview, aired as part of the “Rio Ferdinand Presents” series on YouTube, had started off on a different note. The usual topic in Argentina: Lionel Messi or Maradona. Batistuta didn’t shy away from the debate. “Maradona and Messi are different. Messi scored 1,000 goals and Maradona, 200. Messi is a calm guy; Maradona wasn’t.” And he wrapped up his point, without mincing words: “Maradona was and is the best, because he could play, he could handle the ref, the opponents—he was capable of doing incredible things. Messi can do it, but I don’t think he has the same charisma.”
This isn’t a new sentiment for him. He had already said it and stood by it. He also maintained that the World Cup isn’t everything. It may matter to the fans, but it doesn’t draw a line between one thing and another. There, he highlighted Messi’s relevance and his ambition in the final stretch of his career, while also opening the door to another run by Argentina in the next World Cup.
Amid memories, Batistuta revisited his own history with Maradona. The poster in his room when he wasn’t even a football fan yet. The leap to sharing a locker room. And that debut at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, with three goals against Greece on the day Diego scored the last goal of his career with the national team.
A candid conversation
There was also time to talk about England—about that rivalry that intensified in the wake of the Falklands War and that Maradona used as emotional fuel in the locker room. Batistuta recalled how that context ultimately shaped a match steeped in symbolism.
Ferdinand, who made no secret of his admiration, brought up memories from the past. That match in France ’98, the 2-2 draw against England. “It was in 1998, yes,” Bati confirmed. He scored on a penalty kick just a few minutes in—“it was seven minutes”—and left a powerful image: his son Joaquín was born that very same day. “No, I stayed,” he said regarding the possibility of leaving the team camp. He stayed and scored.