BRAZIL legend Ronaldo paid tribute to ‘inspirational’ Diego Maradona – and revealed an incredible tale about the Argentine.
Maradona died last week at the age of 60 from a cardiac arrest.
Ronaldo revealed Maradona insisted on giving him one of his two special watches during a dinner in Madrid[/caption]
Maradona famously always wore two identical watches – one on each wrist[/caption]
In the latest twist in the saga, Maradona’s personal doctor Leopoldo Luque is being probed over alleged negligence amid reports the death is being treated as manslaughter.
Since Wednesday’s shock news, tributes have been pouring in across the globe, from Argentina to Italy and everywhere in between.
Now, former Brazil superstar Ronaldo has paid his respects to his fellow South American.
Ronaldo said: “Diego left an incredible legacy in football. His loss is very hard to take.
“The news caught me by surprise and left me very sad.
“I want to send my love to his family.
“He changed the lives of many people and I will always be eternally grateful for the inspiration he provided me.”
Ronaldo continued with an anecdote, revealing Maradona gave him one of his prized watches after meeting in Madrid.
Ronaldo revealed Maradona gave him a watch after they enjoyed dinner together in Madrid[/caption]
Maradona famously always wore two watches – one on each wrist.
The timepieces were always identical in model, with one set to local time wherever in the world he was, the other to the time in his native Argentina.
And Ronaldo was lucky enough to be gifted one of Maradona’s famous watches after enjoying some dinner together.
The Brazilian continued: “One of the first times he came to visit me in Madrid we had dinner.
“Diego brought two watches and the legend went that he did not go anywhere without them both.
“I asked him why he wore two, and he said that his daughter had given them to him as a present and since then he had never taken them off.
“At the end of the meal he took one off and gave it to me as a gift.
“I didn’t want to accept it, but he got angry and I was left with no choice.
“I will look after it for the rest of my life as a reminder of his generosity and friendship.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
