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reDiego Maradona has died at the age of 60 after reported cardiac arrest in his native Argentina.
The 1986 World Cup winner, considered one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, underwent successful brain surgery on a blood clot earlier this month.
Maradona last appeared in public on his 60th birthday last Friday before his team’s league game against the Patronato.
According to local media reports, Maradona had been feeling ill for some time.
He was presented with a plaque and cake to celebrate the occasion, but he did not stay to watch the game and witnesses said he looked ill and weak.
The former Napoli, Barcelona and Boca Juniors player has suffered frequent periods in hospital over the years, often due to the extravagant lifestyle that accompanied and continued his playing career.
The former Napoli striker was also admitted to hospital in January 2019 with internal bleeding in his stomach.
He also fell ill at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where he was filmed fainting in an executive box at the Argentina-Nigeria match.
Maradona was admitted to the hospital in 2004 with serious heart and respiratory problems related to cocaine use. He later underwent drug rehab in Cuba and Argentina before a stomach stapling operation in 2005 helped him lose weight.
In 2007, he checked into a clinic in Buenos Aires to help him overcome alcohol abuse problems. Maradona was the subject of a feature film exploring his extraordinary time at Italian club Napoli, which he led to his first league title. The film also details his troubling slide into drug use and his association with organized crime gangs in the city.
English fans will always know him for his infamous ‘Hand of God’ goals at the 1986 World Cup, which he followed with one of the biggest solo goals in tournament history.
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