Lionel Messi Says Diego Maradona Inspired Him to Play Soccer

Lionel Messi is believed by many to be the best soccer player in the world right now, so it's only fitting that his inspiration for playing the game is the man considered by many to be the greatest player in the sport's history.

Speaking to Gente, per SW Lim of Goal.com, Messi credited Diego Maradona with raising his interest in soccer when he was a child: 

"

I never followed anyone in particular, although when I started to think for myself Diego [Maradona] had recently returned home. That was in 1993. He joined Newell’s Old Boys when he came back from Spain and was part of the national team that qualified for USA '94. If anybody inspired me starting out, it was undoubtedly him.

"

The parallels between Messi and Maradona don't make Messi's statement a surprise. They are both from Argentina and prolific scoring machines.

Maradona sits alongside legends such as Pele in the annals of soccer history, with both players earning FIFA's Player of the Century award in 2000.

While Messi can't claim to own that distinction, at least not yet, he's the only four-time winner of the Ballon d'Or (2009 to 2012), and in 2014, he led Argentina to its first World Cup final since 1990. 

Maradona helped usher in a new era of soccer during his senior career from 1976 to 1997. Messi has picked up that mantle and run with it over the last 12 years, with no signs of slowing down.