I told Diego Maradona his laces weren't tied and he shrugged it off. He played six minutes like that, as if he was playing on the street!' Michael Laudrup on his incredible encounter with the football legend

"After rising to prominence in the Danish league with KB and then Brondby at the start of the 1980s, the playmaker would spend six seasons in Serie A with Lazio and then Juventus, at a time when the Italian league was easily the best in the world. Shortly before the 1990s were ushered in, the Dane would make the move to Barcelona to play under his childhood hero Johan Cruyff, becoming a pillar of the Barca Dream Team'."

"Over these 17 years, Laudrup played with some of the game's greats; his partnership with French icon Michel Platini at Juventus being just one of the highlights. It was special to play alongside him, he was the best European player at the time, Laudrup recalls speaking exclusively to FourFourTwo. Whether he was the best I've ever played with is a question I can't answer. I don't like comparisons. I can say, however, that the best opponent I played against was Diego Maradona."

Michael Laudrup rose to prominence in Denmark with KB and Brondby before embarking on a 17-year professional career. He spent six seasons in Serie A with Lazio and Juventus when the league was considered the best globally. He transferred to Barcelona to play under Johan Cruyff and became a key member of the 'Barca Dream Team' before moving controversially to Real Madrid in 1994. Later stages included short spells at Vissel Kobe in Japan and Ajax. Laudrup played alongside Michel Platini and many other greats, avoided direct player comparisons, and named Diego Maradona as the best opponent he faced, recalling a charged match at Napoli with around 80,000 spectators.

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