Lionel Messi's family brand Diego Maradona 'ignorant' for discrediting the Barcelona star

Lionel Messi 's family have hit back at Diego Maradona after the Argentinian soccer legend launched an attack at the Barcelona star.

During an interview on Mexican television,Maradona accused his fellow compatriot Lionel Messi of not being a natural leader for Argentina and urged his country to stop treating the Barcelona icon as a 'God'. 

Now Messi's cousin Maxi Biancucchi has hit back by saying Maradona was 'ignorant' over his comments.

The 34-year-old, a professional footballer with second division Paraguayan side Rubio Nu who is nicknamed El Primo de Messi - Spanish for Messi's cousin - raged: 'It's ignorant to discredit Leo.

'It's sad to see how someone who boasts of being a leader can talk so badly about a player who's currently the best we've got and will probably be so for a long time yet.

And he's done it at a time when he should be helping to rebuild if he loves the national side as he says he does.'