Maradona threatens to abort China tour

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Maradona threatens to abort China tour

Soccer legend Diego Maradona threatened to turn back home while complaining his host company swallowed their words and refused to pay, a local radio station reported on Monday.

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Soccer legend Diego Maradona threatened to turn back home while complaining his host company swallowed their words and refused to pay, a local radio station reported on Monday.

"I don't know why they are mad at me," Maradona told an Argentine radio. "They haven't paid me a peso, a dollar, a euro ora Chinese yuan."

"Their excuse is that I failed to follow the schedule. They had promised to pay me in Cuba. Now I am here, having held a press conference and done everything they asked. But I haven't seen a dollar.

"I just told them: 'pay me now or I go home.'"

The 43-year-old Argentine, who is in China promoting his new autobiography, also launched an attack at England's soccer star David Beckham, saying "Beckham is too pretty for the sport and looks like a woman."

"David Beckham is a great player, but not a world-wide star," said Maradona, whose "Hand of God" goal helped to put England out of the 1986 World Cup. "It's a real shame that Beckham is English."

In his new book, Maradona accused the Real Madrid star of being obsessed with his wife, pop singer Victoria, and not dedicating enough of his time to soccer.

The 28-year-old England captain is widely viewed as one of the game's greatest talents, with Spanish side Real Madrid paying England's Manchester United 40 million dollars this summer to secure his services.

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