'Even dead, Maradona is more alive'—Angry Argentinians slam President Milei

For Argentina’s right-wing “anarcho-capitalist” President Javier Milei, there seems to be no difference between the political “leftists” he loves to hate, and the “lefties” – left-handed and left-footed celebrities idolised by millions of his countrymen.

But many Argentinians were not amused by Milei’s royal snub of the country’s sporting great Diego Maradona – who stands proudly among the pantheon of global football legends.

Last week, during a press conference which coincided with International Left Handers Day, Milei’s spokesperson Manuel Adorni paid tributes to some of Argentina’s greatest left-handed and left-footed entertainers and athletes, including 2022 World Cup winners Lionel Messi and Ángel Di María.

The name he deliberately left out was of Maradona, who led the Argentine football team to World Cup glory in 1986.

“The name omitted from the list of great Argentine sportsmen was naturally picked up on,” reported El País, a daily newspaper in Spain.

“One of the journalists present in the room remarked to Adorni that he had not included Maradona, who passed away in 2020 aged 60. “Who?” the spokesman asked. “Who?” he repeated when Maradona’s name was repeated.

“Ah, yes, he was also a leftie,” Adorni was quoted as saying in a dismissive manner.

El País reminded Milei that along with Messi, Maradona was “the owner of one of the two most famous left legs in Argentine football” who had showcased his extraordinary talent during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, including the famous ‘hand of god’ goal against England.

It was his left hand.

Milei vs Maradona

In the past, Milei has made his preference for Messi over Maradona known.

The more recent omission and feigned ignorance of one of the world’s best-known athletes is in line with the ‘anti-left’ politics of Milei, described as a ‘right-wing populist’ and ‘the madman’ by others in the same vein as US presidential candidate Donald Trump.

When he came to power in 2023, Reuters news agency noted that “Argentina’s new libertarian president” had “mocked late soccer icon Diego Maradona, and praised British former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, little loved in Argentina for her role in the 1982 Falklands War.”

"I hate communists, [expletive] left-wingers, because they hate life," he once said on a talk show. In another outrageous statement, he referred to the Pope as a “filthy leftist”.

On the other hand, outside the field, Maradonna was a champion of many leftist causes and personalities.

He had a tattoo of Che Guevara on his right arm and a tattoo on his left leg of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, whom he thanked for “saving my life” from a substance abuse addiction for which he got treatment in Cuba.

"I believe in Chavez, I am Chavista ... everything Fidel does, everything Chavez does for me is the best," he once said.

Maradona also supported Venezuelan socialist leader Hugo Chavez and even joined his successor Nicolas Maduro’s election campaign later.

A vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, Maradona spoke about the oppressed people on many occasions. “In my heart, I am Palestinian,” he told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a meeting in 2018.

In contrast, Milei is an ardent Zionist who describes himself as a “fanatic of Israel” and recently designated Hamas as a ‘terrorist’ group.

‘An own goal’

The slight at Maradona, described by El País as an “own goal” by the Milei government, did not go down well with fans and family of the legend.

“Do I answer the muppet or not? Maybe I don’t even need to,” his daughter Dalma Maradona, an actress, was quoted as saying in response to the spokesperson’s insult of her father.

“Whether you like it or not, Argentina is known around the world for the person you claim you don’t know, or you act like an idiot pretending you don’t know him,” she added.

“Sports-wise, whether you like it or not, he represented Argentina and won.”

Several footballers and football associations also responded to the snub, including Maradona’s former teammate Juan Sebastián Veron and Mexican player Hector Enrique.

Maradona’s former club, Napoli – where he honed his skills and played some of his best football, also posted a short message on X: “The best left-hander, no doubt about it.”

Amid a flood of angry posts by fans, one user posted a quote by the late Argentine writer Carlos Busqued in a brutal riposte to Milei.

“Even dead, Maradona is more alive than you.”