Maradona says Lionel Messi did not deserve Golden Ball award

Argentine legend Diego Maradona says compatriot Lionel Messi was undeserving of the Golden Ball award he received Sunday as the best player at the 2014 World Cup.

Messi, who led a distinctly average Argentina side to the World Cup final before succumbing 1-0 to Germany, scored four goals in the tournament and added one assist - though none of his goals came in the knockout stage.

"I would give heaven and earth to Leo," Maradona said on his World Cup television program De Zurda, via the BBC. "But when marketing people want him to win something he didn't [deserve to] win, it is unfair."

Maradona, who captured the award after leading the Albiceleste to the title in 1986, said that Colombia star James Rodriguez should have won the award instead of his compatriot.

It's a popular sentiment in the aftermath of yesterday's match, as Messi has come in for a heap of (unfair) criticism for his inability to guide Argentina to a third World Cup crown.