Highlights

• Diego Maradona was often seen wearing two watches, one on either wrist.
• It was initiallty thought they he only wore two watches when he travelled - but this turned out to be incorrect.
• Brazilian Ronaldo revealed the real reason and also shared a heartwarming story about Maradona giving him one of his watches as a gift, highlighting their genuine friendship.

Diego Maradona tragically passed away at the age of 60 in November 2020. The football world united to pay its respects to one of the greatest players in history after the awful news of the Argentina legend's death was confirmed.

Pele, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were among the superstars of past and present to pay tribute to the hero of the 1986 World Cup. Maradona had his flaws, but there’s absolutely no doubt he was loved by the vast majority - especially in Argentina and by all those who had the privilege of playing alongside him. Even Brazilians loved the Argentine, including Ronaldo Nazario, another contender for the status of football’s greatest ever player.

Ronaldo and Maradona were friends

The pair had great mutual respect for each other

Ronaldo, the two-time World Cup winner, opened up about his special relationship with his fellow South American after Maradona's death. Like the rest of the football world, the former world-class striker admitted he was left “very sad” after hearing the news.

"Diego left an incredible legacy in football. His loss is very hard to take,” he was quoted as saying by The Mirror. “The news caught me by surprise and left me very sad. I want to send my love to his family. He changed the lives of many people and I will always be eternally grateful for the inspiration he provided me."

Why Maradona wore two watches

Ronaldo revealed the real reason

Ronaldo also told a heartwarming story involving his late friend, explaining why the Argentina legend wore two watches. It had previously been reported that Maradona wore two watches when he travelled: one to tell the time in the city he was in and the other to tell the time in Argentina. But Ronaldo went on to reveal the real reason.

"One of the first times he came to visit me in Madrid we had dinner," he added. "Diego brought two watches and the legend went that he did not go anywhere without them both.

"I asked him why he wore two, and he said that his daughter had given them to him as a present and since then he had never taken them off. At the end of the meal he took one off and gave it to me as a gift. I didn't want to accept it, but he got angry and I was left with no choice. I will look after it for the rest of my life as a reminder of his generosity and friendship."

Isn’t that lovely? That particular watch became an even more treasured possession for Ronaldo, who is currently the president of Spanish club Real Valladolid.

Maradona will forever be remembered not only as one of the greatest footballers of all time, but also as one of the sport's most colourful characters. A flawed genius, Maradona created plenty of headlines for his behaviour off the pitch - both during his playing career and afterwards - but, to many, the fact he wans't whiter than white only made him more human.

There's been no such drama where Ronaldo is concerned, though. Also one of the game's true greats, the Brazilian maestro is one of the sport's most universally-popular figures and a former pro who nobody seems to have a single bad word to say about.