BUENOS AIRES: Argentine football legend Diego Maradona said compatriot Lionel Messi did not deserve to be named best player of the World Cup, arguing it should have gone to Colombia's James Rodriguez.

"I'd give Lio the sky, but when it's not deserved and it's just marketers who want to make him win something he didn't win, it's unfair," Maradona said Sunday after Argentina lost the World Cup final to Germany 1-0.