The legendary goalkeeper of Argentina, Hugo Gatti, died at the age of 80.
Gatti was nicknamed El Loco of 'The Madman' because of his outspoken character and eccentric playing style. He appeared more than 350 performances for Argentinian Giants Boca Juniors and is credited as the first keeper to wear gloves.
He was part of the Argentina side that participated in the 1966 World Cup in England and appeared a total of 18 performances for the three times.
Recent reports claimed that Gatti became sick after a recent hip operation. According to The Sun, the former stop was taken to intensive care after contracting pneumonia.
Gatti was operated on after he had injured himself in a fall while walking his dog, the report claimed.
Gatti has played the record for most performances in the Argentinian top flight, with 765 games. After hung his gloves, he focused his attention on TV and attracted attention with his controversial takes.
Lionel Messi was a frequent target of his barbs. In 2019 he claimed that the eight times Ballon d'Or winner Barcelona had to leave to prove that he was the greatest of all time.
Last year he hit his countryman again and now played in MLS with Inter Miami, and insisted that the veteran wasted his time in a farmer, while he also realized the depth of the sense of Diego Maradona he played in 1981.
“I don't like Messi, but he had it easy,” he told Argentinian outlet La Nacion last December. 'I saw him play for Barcelona, ​​where the referees were whistled and and blew every time he was touched. He was also surrounded by great players who essentially played for him. '
El Loco even went so far that he claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo has more difficult to be in Saudi Arabia with all Nassr.
“It's harder to play there,” he added. 'Everyone plays there. They chase you, they kill you. Cristiano, although now limited in his speed and movement is still a phenomenon.
'But I think this limited version of Ronaldo is still better than Messi. Where did Messi play? At Barca and in the Argentinian national team. Messi has not forced himself to play in other teams in other countries. And he had opportunities, right? '
In a final battle, Gatti also trivialized Messi's contribution to Argentina's world cup in Qatar and insisted that goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was the real star of the team.