Article body analysed
By TUM BALOGUN Published: 08: 48 AEST, 21 April 2025 | Updated: 08: 48 AEST, 21 April 2025 1 View comments Legendary Argentina goalkeeper Hugo Gatti has died at the age of 80. Gatti was nicknamed El Loco or 'The Madman' because of his outspoken character and eccentric play style. He made more than 350 appearances for Argentinian giants Boca Juniors and has been credited as being the first goalkeeper to wear gloves. He was part of the Argentina side that competed at the 1966 World Cup in England and made 18 appearances in all for the three-times. Recent reports claimed that Gatti took ill after a recent hip surgery. According to the Sun, the former stopper was taken to intensive care after contracting pneumonia. Gatti was operated on after injuring himself in a fall while walking his dog, the report claimed. Gatti holds the record for the most appearances in the Argentine top flight, with 765 matches played. After hanging up his gloves he turned his attention to TV and caught the eye with his controversial takes. Legendary Argentina goalkeeper Hugo Gatti, known as El Loco, has died at the age of 80 He made more than 350 appearances for Argentinian giants Boca Juniors and has been credited as being the first goalkeeper to wear gloves. Lionel Messi was a frequent target of Gatti's controversial takes in his role as a TV pundit Lionel Messi was a frequent target of his barbs. In 2019, he claimed that the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner needed to leave Barcelona to prove he was the greatest of all time. Last year, he again hit out at his compatriot, now playing in MLS with Inter Miami, and insisted that the veteran is wasting his time in a farmer's league, while also reaffirming his the depth of feeling for Diego Maradona who he played alongside in 1981. 'I don’t dislike Messi, but he has had it easy, ' he told Argentine outlet La Nacion last December. 'I saw him playing for Barcelona where the referees were whistle-happy and and blew every time he was touched. He was also surrounded by great players who essentially played for him. ' El Loco even went as far as to claim that Cristiano Ronaldo is having a harder time of things in Saudi Arabia with Al Nassr. 'It’s harder to play there, ' he added. 'Everyone plays there. They chase you, they kill you. Cristiano although now limited in his speed and movement is still a phenomenon. 'But this limited version of Ronaldo I feel is still better than Messi. Where did Messi play? At Barca and in the Argentine national team. Messi didn’t push himself to play in other teams, in other countries. And he had opportunities, eh? ' In one final blow, Gatti also downplayed Messi's contribution to Argentina's World Cup win in Qatar and insisted that goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was the real star of the squad.
Share what you think
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mail Online.
By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on Mail Online. To do this we will link your Mail Online account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy. Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group