Lionel Messi asked by Diego Maradona’s son to retire No 10 shirt in tribute to Argentine legend

The Barcelona star wears the No 10 shirt for club and country

Lionel Messi has been urged by Diego Maradona’s son to give up his No 10 shirt at Barcelona as a tribute to the Argentine legend.

The 1986 World Cup winner died last week after a cardiac arrest, with the football world mourning the loss of one of the greatest players of all time.

A host of tributes have followed since Maradona’s passing, including former club Napoli naming their stadium the Diego Armanda Maradona San Paolo.

While Marseille manager Andre Villas-Boas urged Fifa to retire the No 10 jersey throughout the game, and now Diego Armando Maradona Sinagra has echoed those views by publicly calling on Messi and Barcelona to retire the number in honour of his father.

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“In the teams where he played, I think so, including Barça. I have no doubt,” Maradona’s son told Mundo Deportivo when it was suggested to him that the No 10 jersey could be retired at all of his father’s former clubs and by the Albiceleste. 

The No 10 shirt has become synonymous throughout not only Argentine football but the world due to the style of play Maradona displayed.

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Messi has inherited the number and is now routinely discussed in the same breath as Maradona following his own legendary career. 

Messi displayed Maradona’s old Newell’s Old Boys jersey when he celebrated scoring against Getafe last weekend.

A tribute Maradona Jr admits “moved” him a lot following several emotional days. 

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“It moved me a lot," added Maradona’s son. “They have been very emotional days. Leo’s [tribute] was special, very nice.

"It got to me a lot, it made me cry. Also that of Napoli; the celebration of Gimnasia; what happened in Boca, where [Maradona’s daughter] Dalma was... They were strong emotions.”