'I'd never give James No.10 as he's not even 1 percent of what Maradona was'

Former Napoli player Roberto Carlos 'Pampa' Sosa doesn't think James Rodriguez should be anywhere near the club's famed No.10 shirt, claiming he isn't one percent of the player that Diego Maradona was.

The Argentinian himself is the last player to wear the iconic number in Naples, with it having been retired as a gesture towards their greatest ever player.

"I would never give him the No.10," Sosa said clearly.

"He's a talent, but he's not even one percent of what Maradona was."

Having played for Udinese between 1998 and 2002, Sosa departed Italy to return to his native Argentina, where he played for Boca Juniors.

But he soon made his way back to Italy before ending up at Napoli, who had fallen from grace in a catastrophic manner.

"The club convinced me by telling me I'd become a king in Naples and that we'd return to Serie A," he explained.

When Maradona moved on from Napoli, the Partenopei honoured him by stopping his shirt number from being available, but their fall to Serie A meant that it had to be used.

Serie C clubs used shirt No.1 through No.11 in their starting XI, and Sosa requested it for his final appearance at the Stadio San Paolo, making him the last to wear the shirt on April 30, 2006.

"The only thing I asked was that I wore the No.10 in my last game at the San Paolo," he said.