Newcastle United defender Federico Fernandez has dubbed Diego Maradona as a 'hero' after his compatriot sadly passed away at the age of 60 on Wednesday.
Maradona, who was widely regarded as one of the world's best ever players, won the World Cup in 1986 and was idolised in Argentina and in Naples, after winning five major trophies during his successful time in Italy while playing for Napoli.
Fernandez has also previously played for the Argentina national team and Napoli prior to joining Newcastle and in a touching tribute to Maradona, who died yesterday after suffering a heart attack.
"I grew up during the last part of his career when he played back in Argentina for Newell's (Old Boys) and Boca Juniors when he painted the yellow hair," Fernandez told Sky Sports.
"He had amazing skill and I was so lucky to see his last years.
"When I first signed for Napoli, from the first day he was special for me.
"Coming from the same country as Maradona, he is absolutely a hero and when I was there Maradona sent me a video in 2013 before the World Cup wishing me the best of luck representing Argentina.
"It was a very important, emotional video and I will never forget what he did for the Argentina national team.
"He was amazing. He came from nothing, he was from a very poor area in Argentina and he touched the sky."
