Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona on Saturday lamented the death of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro as the loss of a “great” man who was “like a second father” to him.

“They called me from Buenos Aires and it was a shock” to learn the 90-year-old historic revolutionary leader had died, Maradona said.

“I’m terribly sad as he was like a second father,” Maradona told reporters in Zagreb, where he is watching the Davis Cup final between Argentina and Croatia.