Getty Former Argentinian football player Diego Maradona dribbles with a ball as he arrives with his daughters Dalma (L) and Giannina (R) to attend the screening of Serbian director Emir Kusturica's documentary film 'Maradona by Kusturica' at the 61st Cannes International Film Festival on May 20, 2008 in Cannes, southern France.
Diego Maradona, Argentine soccer legend, has died at the age of 60, the Argentina national soccer team confirmed.
The World Cup winner passed on Wednesday, November 25, after suffering from a heart attack, according to Goal.com.
Maradona, widely considered as one of the greatest soccer players of all time, had been recovering in his Tigre home after undergoing brain surgery at the beginning of the month, the outlet said.
Earlier hospital tests revealed a blood clot on his brain, Goal.com continued. However, doctors described the surgery as successful, the outlet noted.
Diego Maradona has died at the age of 60, his longtime lawyer and agent Matias Morla confirmed.
The World Cup-winner was recently hospitalized and underwent brain surgery and was released on Nov. 11.
The 60-year-old led Argentina to four World Cups and coached the national team during the 2010 tournament, CBS News reported.
Selección Argentina, Argentina’s national soccer team, confirmed Maradona’s death on Twitter with a tribute.
“You will be eternal in every heart of the football world,” the November 25 tweet read, according to Goal.com
Hasta siempre, Diego.
Serás #Eterno en cada corazón del planeta fútbol.
Argentina’s presidential office declared that the country will host three days of national mourning following the athlete’s death.
Maradona leaves behind eight official children and his ex-wife Claudia Villafañe.
Here’s what you need to know about Diego Maradona’s family.
1. Maradona Shares 2 Daughters With Ex-Wife Claudia Villafañe
GettyDiego Maradona, center right, with ex-wife Claudia Villafañe, left, and daughters Dalma, center left, and Giannina, right, at the ‘Maradona’ Premiere at the Palais des Festivals during the 61st International Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2008 in Cannes, France.
According to The Sun, Maradona married his longtime fiancée Claudia Villafañe in 1989. The pair met when she was 17, the outlet continued.
A Buenos Aires native, Villafañe pursued a career as a TV personality and producer, even taking part in Celebrity Masterchef Argentina, The Sun reported.
The couple share two daughters, Giannina and Dalma Maradona, and divorced in 2003 after nearly 20 years of marriage.
2. In November 2019, Giannina Maradona Posted Cryptic Social Media Messages Expressing Concern Over Her Father’s Health
In November 2019, Giannina Maradona — who was 30 at the time — took to social media following her father’s 59th birthday, according to The Sun.
The 30-year-old, who shares a son with Man City striker Sergio Aguero, posted “cryptic comments on social media” inferring concern over Diego Maradona’s health “as she begged followers to ‘pray for him,'” the outlet continued.
“He’s not dying because his body decides but they are killing him inside without him realizing it,” Giannina Maradona expressed in an Instagram story, the outlet disclosed. “I don’t believe in the benchmark NORMAL, but that is a long way from the reality he deserves. Pray for him please.”
Diego Maradona had public battles with alcohol and drug addictions in the past, The Sun noted.
He later responded to his daughter’s social media commentary in a video of his own, denying taking any sedatives, the outlet reported.
“I want to tell you that I’m not dying at all, that I sleep peacefully because I’m working,” Diego Maradona said, according to The Sun. “I don’t know what she meant to say or what she had interpreted.”
3. Maradona Is the Official Father of 8 Children
GettyArgentina player Diego Maradona in action during a 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Peru at the National Stadium on June 23, 1985 in Lima, Peru.
In March 2019, BBC News reported that Maradona was to acknowledge the paternity of three Cuban children, despite having once denied claims that he had other children outside of his marriage.
The paternity acknowledgement enabled Maradona as the official father of eight children, the outlet continued.
BBC News disclosed that the children were from two different mothers and could take the Maradona name.
According to BBC:
Maradona spent several years in the country between 2000 and 2005 undergoing treatment for a cocaine habit. He befriended then-President Fidel Castro during his stint in the country and got a tattoo of the leader’s face on his leg.
Since his 2003 divorce from Villafañe, Maradona had recognized two other children, Diego Junior and Jana, following court battles with their mothers, BBC News continued.
He also shares another child, Diego Fernando, with his former partner Veronica Ojeda, the outlet said.
4. Maradona Broke up With His Most Recent Girlfriend in December 2018
GettyArgentina’s football legend Diego Maradona, left, and his girlfriend Rocio Olivia arrive at the airport in Jakarta on June 29, 2013.
Rocio Oliva and Maradona broke up in December 2018 following a four-year engagement. Like, Maradona, Oliva, 29, was a soccer player who played for Argentina’s women’s team.
In May 2019, Maradona was detained at Buenos Aires airport after Oliva initiated legal proceedings against her former fiancé claiming that she owed him nearly $7 million. According to Maradona’s lawyer, the former Boca Juniors star was issued with a court date and released.
Oliva, who dated Maradona for six years, announced earlier this month that Maradona needed urgent treatment for alcohol addiction, The Sun reported.
5. Maradona Sued His Ex-Wife After Claiming She Misappropriated Millions of His Money to Buy Florida Real Estate
GettyDiego Armando Maradona, right, next to his former wife Claudia Villafane in January 2000 at a hotel in Havana, Cuba.
The Associated Press reported in August 2018 that Maradona had been granted permission to pursue a lawsuit in the U.S. against Villafañe. Maradona in 2015 accused his ex-wife of misappropriating millions of his dollars to buy six condominium units in Florida , the outlet said.
The lawsuit, filed in Miami, claimed the misappropriation was uncovered during an audit in 2014, The Associated Press indicated.
“The marriage was long over by the time the lawsuit contends the alleged misappropriation was uncovered through an audit in 2014,” The AP reported. “Maradona’s lawsuit says the misappropriation was never disclosed to him before that.”
After Villafañe’s lawyers argued that the case belonged in Argentina, an appeals court ruled on August 8, 2018 that a lower court “correctly refused to dismiss the lawsuit against” her, the outlet said.
Maradona’s ex-wife denied any fraud, The AP continued.
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