Lionel Messi - who captained Argentina to Copa America glory on Sunday - has been likened to Diego Maradona ever since he burst onto the scene for Barcelona as a teenager

Diego Maradona Junior confesses Lionel Messi has suffered a lot due to relentless comparisons with his father over the years.

Messi, 34, has been likened to late footballing icon Maradona ever since he burst onto the scene forBarcelonaas a teenager.

But he has faced criticism in his native Argentina for failing to lead the country to World Cup glory as Maradona did in 1986.

While Messi fell agonisingly short in the 2014 tournament with an extra-time defeat by Germany, he captained Argentina to their first major trophy in 28 years by beating Brazil in the Copa America final on Sunday.

Maradona Jr hopes the result will tone down the constant comparisons between Messi and his father, tellingTyC Sports: Diego was Diego and Messi was Messi.

The one who criticises Messi does not understand anything about football. He suffered a lot when they compare him with my father.

Maradona Jr spoke of his incredible relief in the aftermath of the result as he declared his father - who died last November - would have loved this team.

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He added: It was an incredible relief. The kids deserved it. We just won again after my old man left.

I miss him too much. I miss the talks. If there is something that helped us bond a lot, it is the love for the Argentine jersey.

Maradona Jr also singled out the six-time Ballon dOr winner for special praise, saying: I adore Messi, I love him. There has never been one in the history of football that has his quality.

Should we compare Lionel Messi to Diego Maradona despite the two legends playing in different eras?Comment below.

Messi, meanwhile, paid tribute to Maradona by dedicating Argentinas success to the Napoli legend and his countrys general public in a heartfeltInstagrampost.

He wrote: I want to dedicate this success to my family, who always gave me the strength to move forward, to my friends that I love so much, to all the people who believe in us and most of all to the 45 million Argentines who have endured such a tough time with this virus ..., especially those that have been personally affected.

This is for all, and of course also for Diego, who surely was supporting us from wherever he is.

In order to continue celebrating we have to continue taking care of ourselves.

Lets not forget that there is still a long way to go to return to normality and I hope we can take advantage of this happiness to gain a little strength to fight the virus together.

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