Diego Maradona has revealed his admiration for Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano, who passed away at the age of 88 on Monday.

Maradona claims that Di Stefano was an influence throughout his own career, and has echoed the suggestions of Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and others by insisting that the sport has lost one of the greats.

"For me he was a maestro, he taught me a lot," the 53-year-old revealed on De Zurda.

"I remember a lot of great moments of his and truthfully football today is grieving because a great died today, not just a player, but a person. He was a terrific person."

Di Stefano scored in five successive European Cup final victories for Madrid in the mid-to-late 1950s.