“If I have to choose one I choose Leo, I have something special with him. He is the best of all time although Maradona was also great,” Scaloni advised Spanish radio station Cope on Tuesday.

Argentina followers have lengthy most popular Maradona over Messi however attitudes look like shifting after the Paris St Germain ahead led the staff to raise the World Cup final month for the primary time since Maradona impressed them to win it in 1986.

Scaloni additionally revealed that he prioritised chatting with Messi when he was named Argentina coach in 2018, whereas the ahead was taking a break from worldwide obligation following the disastrous World Cup in Russia.

“The first thing we did was have a video call with Messi. He said he was honoured and the first thing we said to him was ‘Come back. We’ll wait for you’. That’s what we did and eight months later he came and found an incredible group,” Scaloni added.

“Coaching Messi is not difficult. You cannot correct him on a technical level but sometimes you can instruct him to press or to attack in a certain way. When he smells blood he is the number one.”

Scaloni additionally defended his goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez after he was criticised for his overzealous celebrations following Argentina’s triumph, reminiscent of making an obscene gesture when amassing the Golden Glove award and carrying a toy child with Kylian Mbappe’s face on it through the open-top bus parade.

“There are attitudes which he will not be happy with, but he is a spectacular guy. He is like a child. He is an incredible guy, his personality has given so much to the group,” Scaloni added.