Brussels, Nov 26 (AP) France great Michel Platini, one of Diego Maradona's fiercest rivals in the Italian league during the 1980s, calls him "the greatest football lover there was."

In a message to The Associated Press on Thursday, Platini added Maradona was "a child king. He was a bit excessive in all things, but the most important thing is that he was excessive on the pitch and it was beautiful."

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Maradona died on Wednesday from a heart attack, aged 60.

Platini, who is 65, and Maradona played against each other at club level at a time when the Italian league was arguably the best in the world. Maradona arrived at Napoli in 1984, two years after Platini signed with Juventus.

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Maradona, who scored 115 goals for Napoli in 259 matches, helped the club challenge Juventus' supremacy, winning its first two Serie A titles and the 1989 UEFA Cup.

Platini won two Italian leagues and the 1985 European Cup with Juventus. In his last season there, he was runner-up to Maradona when Napoli won its first Serie A in 1987. (AP)

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