Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos is not world-class like his Spanish international teammate Gerard Pique, according to Argentina legend Diego Maradona.
Both are widely considered as two of the best centre-backs in European football at the moment and both played a key role in the national team’s success at 2010 World Cup as well as Euro 2012.
However, Maradona doesn’t believe Ramos is on the same level as Pique and has highlighted the Los Blancos captain’s lack of control as a main reason.
For me, [Sergio] Ramos is not world class. I respect him alot, he has personality, but does these barbaric fouls!,” he said, as reported by Marca.
“I think the current generation of defenders is far from mine, [Franco] Baresi, Migueli… Those defenders had real personality.
“I think [Gerard] Pique is a step above Ramos, he has far greater control. I like them both, but now I have a theory that defenders matter less because the strikers are so good.
“Ronaldo, Messi, and Neymar, they make the difference.”
The pair started together in Spain’s recent World Cup qualification double header but Ramos conceded a late penalty against Italy as the visitors failed to capitalise on their dominance and had to settle for a share of the points.
Meanwhile, Pique, who has been capped 85 times, announced after the 2-0 win over Armenia a few days later that he intends retire from international football following the next major tournament in Russia.
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