“But I’m not a thief. Blatter did a lot of harm to football and, with Platini, it’s a farce. They pretend to be separated, one at FIFA and the other at UEFA, while in fact they were always side by side.”

Former Argentine superstar Diego Maradona was in typically combative form on Tuesday, when discussing outgoing Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, and the man tipped to replace him, current Uefa president Michel Platini.

But, Maradona didn’t stop there. Warming to his theme, the 1986 World Cup winner said that all Platini had learned from his one-time ally, Blatter, was how to steal.

“The only thing Blatter could teach Platini was how to steal,” he added.

Thirty years ago Maradona and Platini were be rivals on the pitch for Napoli and Juventus respectively. Looking at this footage from the mid 80s, though, and you could be forgiven for asking why anotehr player, Michael Laudrup, is not spoken of when the best players of all time are being disussed.

Somewhat alaramingly, given that he is not exactly renowned for his diplomacy skills, Maradona claimed he had an agreement with Prince Ali of Jordan, another candidate for the FIFA presidency on February 26.

“If he should win the election, I will be at his side as vice-president,” added the former Napoli and Barcelona star.