"You took us to the highest point in the world, and made us immensely happy. You were the greatest of all. Thank you for being you, Diego, we will miss you for the rest of our lives."
Pope Francis remembers soccer legend and fellow Argentine Diego Maradona with affection and is keeping him in his prayers, the Vatican said on Wednesday.
"The pope was informed about the death of Diego Maradona, he recalls the times he met him in these past years with affection, and he is remembering him in his prayers, as he did in the past days when he was informed about his condition," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
Naples on Wednesday bid farewell to its beloved Diego Maradona, who won the hearts of the southern Italian city by leading the club Napoli to its only two league titles in 1987 and 1990.
Hundreds of fans flooded into the streets of the city's Spanish Quarters, many of them lighting a candle beneath a huge mural of the Argentine who died of a heart attack aged 60.
Cristiano Ronaldo hailed an "unparalleled magician" whom he could call "friend" while arch rival Lionel Messi remembered an icon with an "eternal appeal" as the two modern day geniuses joined the world in mourning Diego Maradona's untimely death on Wednesday.