Lionel Messi pays homage to Diego Maradona as he poses in 1994 Argentina shirt

Lionel Messi’s adventure in Miami could not have started in a more positive manner, as the ex-Barcelona player already has three goals in the Leagues Cup. He scored a fabulous last-gasp free-kick against Cruz Azul to give Inter Miami the win before grabbing a brace against Atlanta United soon after.

However, while Messi waits for game number three, a clash in the Leagues Cup against Orlando City, his first derby, the player took time to pay homage to one of Argentina’s greatest ever players: Diego Maradona, a player with whom Messi has been compared ever since he first tied the laces on his boots as a professional.

Messi poses in USA ‘94 World Cup shirt

Through his Instagram channel, Leo, who has set social media on fire recently with his new goal celebration, published a photo of himself wearing an Argentina National Team shirt, more specifically, the away jersey used by the side in the 1994 World Cup which took place in the United States.

It was wearing this shirt when Maradona scored his final World Cup goal, a strike against Greece which he put in the net before being kicked out of the tournament for using the banned substance, ephedrine.

Maradona himself always stood firm, saying that he never intended to gain a sporting advantage during the World Cup, but was in fact only using the drug in order to cure a cold that was passed onto him.

What punishment did Maradona receive for taking ephedrine?

Despite the attempt to exonerate himself, FIFA punished the player heavily, kicking him out of the tournament immediately and banning him for 15 months. “They cut off my legs”, Maradona said in response to the punishment.

Maradona played in 4 World Cups: Spain 1982, Mexico 1986, Italy 1990 and USA 1994. One year on, the WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, declared that the amount of ephedrine used by ‘El Diego’ was not enough to be considered as ‘doping’.