The legendary Argentinian footballer Diego Maradona has died at the age of 60, the Argentinian football association has said.
Maradona, who captained Argentina’s 1986 World Cup-winning team, is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time – if not the greatest.
There will be three days of national mourning, Argentinian president Alberto Fernandez has said.
The star, who underwent surgery for a subdural haematoma a few weeks ago, died of a heart attack, his lawyer said.
A subdural haematoma is a serious condition where a blood clot develops between the skull and the surface of the brain. It is usually caused by a head injury.
He was also recently admitted to hospital because he was “not well psychologically”.
He said he had been “very sad for a week” and “didn’t want to eat”, according to one of his representatives.
Following the announcement of his death, ex and current footballers paid tribute to the Argentine legend and one of the greatest footballers of all time.
Maradona’s close friend and international teammate, former Tottenham midfielder Ossie Ardiles, said: “Thank [you] dear Dieguito for your friendship, for your football, sublime, without comparison. Simply, the best football player in the history of football. So many enjoyable moments together. Impossible to say which one was the best. RIP my dear friend.”
Former England striker Gary Lineker, part of the Three Lions squad sent home from the 1986 World Cup thanks to Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal, said: “By some distance the best player of my generation and arguably the greatest of all time. After a blessed but troubled life, hopefully he’ll finally find some comfort in the hands of God.”
The Twitter account for the Argentina team posted a picture of Maradona captioned: “Goodbye, Diego. You will be Eternal in every heart of the soccer planet.”
Manchester United and England striker Marcus Rashford posted a photo of 91-cap international, captioned “Legendary” with the image of a broken heart.