Football legend Diego Maradona passes away at 60 due to cardiac arrest

Football legend from Argentina, Diego Maradona passed away on November 25, 2020, after suffering a heart attack. He was 60-years old.

Maradona had been hospitalized at the start of November 2020, a few days after celebrating his birthday after he companied of regularly being fatigued. His tests had revealed a blood clot in his brain, which according to doctors was operated on successfully.

The Footballer was also released from the hospital but later in the early hours of November 25, he suffered cardiac arrest and paramedics failed to revive him.

The star footballer had begun his professional career at the age of 16 with Argentinos Juniors and later he went on to become of the greatest players ever to play football.

Maradona represented Boca Juniors, Napoli, Barcelona, Newell’s Old Boys as a player. He was also considered the main player in taking Argentina to the country’s second World Cup title in 1986.

World mourns  the death of Football legend:

Prime Minister Modi through his official Twitter handle condoles the death of a Football star. He noted that Maradona enjoyed global popularity and gave the fans some of the best spiriting moments on the football field.  

Diego Maradona was a maestro of football, who enjoyed global popularity. Throughout his career, he gave us some of the best sporting moments on the football field. His untimely demise has saddened us all. May his soul rest in peace.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 26, 2020

Pele gave a heartfelt tribute to the untimely demise of his fellow legend. In his tweet, he acknowledged that he lost a great friend and the world has lost a legend. He hoped that one day they both can play ball together in the sky.

Que notícia triste. Eu perdi um grande amigo e o mundo perdeu uma lenda. Ainda há muito a ser dito, mas por agora, que Deus dê força para os familiares. Um dia, eu espero que possamos jogar bola juntos no céu. pic.twitter.com/6Li76HTikA

— Pelé (@Pele) November 25, 2020

Ronaldo, world famous football player also took to his Twitter account to pay his tributes to the star footballer and shared an adorable photo with Maradona. 

Hoje despeço-me de um amigo e o Mundo despede-se de um génio eterno. Um dos melhores de todos os tempos. Um mágico inigualável. Parte demasiado cedo, mas deixa um legado sem limites e um vazio que jamais será preenchido. Descansa em paz, craque. Nunca serás esquecido.🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/WTS21uxmdL

— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 25, 2020

Virat Kohli in his message on Twitter acknowledged that Maradona changed the way the beautiful game of football is played. 

RIP Diego Maradona. He changed the way the beautiful game of football is played. True genius.

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) November 26, 2020

Diego Maradona: Top Records and moment of 'Hand of God'

• In 1976, the legend made his professional debut for Argentinos Junior.  He played for five years at the Argentinos Juniors and had scored 115 goals in 167 appearances.

• Maradona made history by becoming the first football player to set the world record transfer fee twice. The first was when he was transferred to Barcelona and the second one was when was transferred to Napoli.

•  During his time of the game with the Argentina National Team, Maradona had scored 34 goals in 91 appearances. Maradona made his full international debut when Argentina played against Hungary in 1977. 

• In 1979, he was also declared to be the South American Player of the Year and led Argentine Team in the Junior World Cup.

• Maradona at the age of 18 then played the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship held in Japan and had emerged as the star of the tournament. He shined in Argentina's 3-1 final win over the Soviet Union. 

• He played his first World Cup Tournament in 1982 in Spain. Argentina has played Belgium in the opening game of the World Cup 1982 in Barcelona. Maradona had played in all five matches without being substituted and scored twice against Hungary. 

• The Argentine National Team scored to victory under the captaincy of Maradona in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico winning the finals against West Germany. The famous 'Hand of God' moment came in this tournament when he scored a goal during the quarter-finals match between  Argentina vs England. 

• He again captained Argentina in the 1990 World Cup in Italy to yet another World Cup Final but an ankle injury had affected his overall performance and he was seen to be much less dominant than four years earlier. 

• In the World Cup of 1994 in the United States, he played in only two games and scored one goal against Greece before being sent home after failing a drug test. 

Diego Maradona: Personal Life

Maradona was born on October 30, 1960, in the Argentine city of Lanus to a poor family who had moved from Corrientes Province. His parents were Dalma Salvadora Franco and Diego Maradona Senior.  He was raised on the Southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Maradona was the first son after four daughters. He also had two younger brothers who were professional football players. 

Maradona received his first soccer ball at the age of 3 and he quickly became devoted to the game. At the age of 8, he was spotted by a talent scout when he was playing in his neighborhood club Estrella Roja.

Maradona married his long time fiancee Claudia Villafane on November 7, 1984, and had two daughters, Dalma Nerea and Gianinna Dinorah. Diego Maradona and Villafane divorced in 2004.