Diego Maradona on Monday backed controversial plans to expand the World Cup to 48 teams, a day before world football's powerful governing council faces a key decision on the issue.

Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro's ashes were encased in a large granite boulder on Sunday in a ceremony that capped nine days of public mourning and aimed to literally set in stone the legacy of one of the 20th century's most influential characters.

Flag-waving Cubans leaned from windows and lined the streets as Fidel Castro's funeral cortege approached the end of three-day journey on Saturday, rolling into the city of Santiago de Cuba where the revolutionary leader's remains will be laid to rest.

Real Madrid can open a nine-point lead over bitter rivals Barcelona at the top of La Liga by winning Saturday's 'Clasico' at the Nou Camp.

For football great Diego Maradona, Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro was more than a friend and fellow Latin American legend, he was "a second father."

How many sleepless nights did the young man who would become one of soccer's greatest players spend gazing up at the ceiling, imagining dizzying dribbles, spectacular goals and hoisting the World Cup above his head?

Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi is the modern-day Diego Maradona, according to Germany great Lothar Matthaus.

Retired Italian football coach Arrigo Sacchi claims Lionel Messi, while “the best player in the world today”, is not the greatest Argentine to ever play the game.

Diego Maradona's larger-than-life exploits are coming to the small screen, producers say on Thursday.

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona and the country's President Mauricio Macri urge Lionel Messi not to leave the national team despite his vow to quit after a humiliating defeat.

Lionel Messi will bid to gild his legacy as the greatest footballer of his generation here Sunday by ending Argentina's 23-year wait for a major title in a dream final against holders Chile in the Copa America Centenario.

Argentina football legend Diego Maradona tells his national team not to bother coming back home if they don't win the Copa America Centenario on Sunday.

Diego Maradona and former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton reignite on their long-running feud, on the 30th anniversary of the Argentine's infamous "Hand of God" World Cup goal.

Argentina legend Diego Maradona has said his compatriot, Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi, is "dead to me" following his controversial feud with former teammate Maxi Lopez.

Former World Cup winner and national coach Diego Maradona says he has no magic wand to solve Argentina's football crisis but agree to help organise talks to that end.

Former Argentina captain Diego Maradona, a long-time critic of FIFA, has talks in Paris with its president Gianni Infantino, the global soccer body said on Tuesday.

Diego Maradona hails his old rival Pele as an "icon" as the pair reunite for a "match of friendship" on Thursday.

Diego Maradona hails his old rival Pele as an "icon" as the pair are reunited for a "match of friendship" on Thursday.

Brazilian legend Pele labelled Argentine star Lionel Messi 'a baby' and said that Messi's countryman Diego Maradona played at a 'a higher level' than Leo.

Lionel Messi is rewriting football history. Before the emergence of the Argentine attacker just over a decade ago, the game's records were spread out among a select band of legends. But now there are hardly any left for anyone else.