Clubs, stars pay tribute to Maradona

* Icon honoured during UCL games

DIEGO Maradona’s memory will be honoured with a minute’s silence at all the UEFA Champions League matches tonight and Europa League fixtures tomorrow (Thursday) night.

The Argentine football genius died of heart attack today, days after undergoing brain surgery. He was aged 60.

Since announcement of his passing today, many in the football world have been paying tribute to the 1986 World Cup hero, who FIFA named Player of the Century in 2000 along with Brazilian legend, Pele.

Among those paying tribute to Maradona include his former clubs, football bodies across the globe, clubs he played against, football players he inspired and journalists.

“You will be #Eternal in every heart of the football planet. Always in our hearts 💙Ciao, Diego,” Napoli, the club he led to glory in the 1980s and early 1990s, wrote on Twitter.

“Rest in peace Diego Armando Maradona,” LaLiga stated.

Barcelona, the first club he played for in Europe, tweeted: “FC Barcelona expresses its deepest condolences regarding the death of Diego Armando Maradona, a player for our club (1982-84) and an icon of world football. Rest in peace Diego.”

“Football has lost one of its greatest icons. Rest in peace, Diego Maradona,” wrote Manchester United, who added a photo of Maradona playing against them in the 1980s.

Arsenal wrote: “One of the greatest to play the game. An inspiration across the world. A huge loss to the football family. RIP, Diego.”

 Another English Premier League club Chelsea praised the late magician, tweeting: “A genius of his art. A master of our game. One of the all-time greats. Rest in peace, Diego Maradona.”

“A true great of the game. Rest in peace, Diego Maradona,”  Liverpool wrote.

“Today, we lost one of the greatest footballers of all time. Rest in peace, Diego #Maradona,” German club Schalke 04 wrote.

“The world has lost a legend today. One of the best players to have ever played the game. Gracias por todo Diego 🙏🏼 #Legend #D10S #Maradona,” Belgian club KAA Gent wrote.

Current and retired footballers also paid glowing tribute to the late superstar.

“Reports from Argentina that Diego Armando Maradona has died. By some distance the best player of my generation and arguably the greatest of all time. After a blessed but troubled life, hopefully he’ll finally find some comfort in the hands of God. #RipDiego,” wrote Gary Lineker, one of the players in the England team that Maradona scored the ‘hand of God’ goal against at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

“Rest in peace Legend 😢💔🖤 #Maradona,” Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny tweeted.

“I’ll never forget watching Diego Maradona as an 8 yr old at the World Cup in Mexico. Never seen anything like it on that stage since. Sad news #Maradona,” former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher wrote.”AD10S IDOLO R.I.P.,” former Italy defender Marco Materazzi wrote.

Nigerian journalist Mitchell Obi, one of Africa’s top sports writers, penned a moving tribute moments after Maradona’s death was announced.

He wrote: “If you never watched Diego Maradona, the one-man battleship play football, you may not understand how beautiful football could be. Diego was the quintessential craftman with and without ball and he played the game with an enduring charm. Definitely Argentina will cry for the one who gave them a World Cup outside their shore… the footballer of the century. And Napoli fans will conjure once more the image of the god of the game who freed their hearts for the Italian game with a scudetto that came down south.

“Amando loved the game and like the little onions that they called him his sense of endeovour laced with a seductive ease could stir up tears in defeat and joy. Now the hand of God has taken him upstairs to meet the glorious stars and we can only celebrate the moments that he took our breath away than those which he denied us Nigerians after a cocktail of stimulants.

“So, Diego left Pele behind… the two who shared the ultimate FIFA accolade of Player of the Century. All that goes indeed returns… in this unusual year we will still cry for Diego!”