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Pope Francis: Maradona was a poet, a great champion and a very fragile man

The late Diego Maradona was a man beloved by his fellow Argentines – and Pope Francis is seemingly no exception.

The Pope recalled his own memories of the 1986 World Cup final, when Argentina beat West Germany while he was studying in Frankfurt.

He told the Gazzetta dello Sport: "I met Diego Armando Maradona during a Match for Peace in 2014: I remember with pleasure everything that Diego did for Scholas Occurrentes, the foundation that takes care of the needy all over the world.

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“On the pitch he was a poet, a great champion who gave joy to millions of people, in Argentina as in Naples.