Argentina football legend Diego Maradona has offered to coach the national team for free in the wake of their disappointing campaign at the ongoing Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament.

The two-time world champions barely scraped past Nigeria into the knockout stage in Group D before they were conveniently beaten 4-3 by France.

Maradona has been in the spotlight for his controversial celebrations during Argentina games at the tournament.

He was speaking during a chat with Telesur’s “De La Mano del 10” show on Monday.

When asked about a possible return as Argentina manager, Maradona said: “Yes, and I would do it for free.”

“I would not ask for anything in exchange.

“Everyone is thinking that I’m happy about this [Argentina’s elimination] but I am not. They are wrong. It hurts my heart, it hurts my soul because I run so many miles with my shirt and with my flag… beating everyone, even FIFA, and leaving like that it’s something that I don’t accept.

“I wish God would give me the strength to go back to the pitch and play football. Years and life go by for everyone and they got me now at my 57-years-old, watching my national team, who have been thrashed by a team that I do not think is one of the best in the tournament. It makes me very bad to think that everything we build with a lot of effort and we have destroyed so easily.” He added.

Diego Maradona led Argentina to the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

On Neymar’s antics during Brazil’s last 16 clash with Mexico on Monday evening, the 1986 World Cup winner said: “Neymar will have to be told: ‘you make us cry or you make us laugh.”

“Or it is a yellow card and a warning for the Mexican player [Layun] or it is simulation by Neymar.

“I believe that we should start to fine tune this because now in the stage of the World Cup the yellow cards count a lot.” He concluded.