There Is One Man Whose Shadow Messi Can't Escape. Messi Doesn't Speak To Him

Lionel Messi won't get out of Diego Maradona's potbellied, cocaine-snorting shadow until he wins a World Cup, which may partly explain why Messi hasn't spoken to Maradona since the 2010 iteration of the tournament, in which Maradona coached Argentina.

Given that Maradona has pretty much failed at everything (including the aforementioned Argentina-managing) he's tried since he won a World Cup himself back in 1986, we regard this as a good decision.

From ESPNFC:

"We haven't spoken in a long time, since the World Cup [2010] we may have crossed paths once or twice," Messi said in Spanish on Egyptian TV. "He has his life, his things and I have mine. We haven't spoken at all. Considering that we don't speak to each other, I have a great relationship with him."

Messi is playing this Maradona thing perfectly. The man is like an erupting volcano: fun to watch from a safe distance, but you don't want to get close enough for it to touch you.

Presumably this will continue until Messi finds a need to contact Fidel Castro. Then Diego's his man.

(H/T ESPNFC)

Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus