Diego Maradona Height, Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Diego Maradona

• Did Diego Maradona smoke?: Yes 

• Did Diego Maradona drink alcohol?: Yes 

• He was born in a very poor family, his father was a brick-layer and mother a home-maker.

• His mother wanted him to become an accountant and often seized his football in his childhood to make him concentrate on his studies.

• In childhood, he used to sleep with the football inside his shirt to avoid it being stolen.

• He joined Los Cebollitas and led them to a 136-unbeaten streak.
  

  Diego Maradona in his childhood

• In 1976, just before his sixteenth birthday, he made his professional debut with Argentinos Juniors.
  

  Diego Maradona playing for Argentinos Juniors

• On June 2, 1979, he scored his first goal for Argentina against Scotland.

• In 1979, he played for Argentina in the FIFA U-20 World Cup and helped the team won the tournament. He won the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player.

• In 1981, he joined Boca Juniors.
  

  Diego Maradona playing for Boca Juniors

• In 1982, he played his first World Cup tournament. They were knocked out of the tournament by Brazil in the second round.

• Following the World Cup, he joined FC Barcelona. In his two seasons with Barcelona, he scored 38 goals in 58 games.
  

  Diego Maradona playing for Barcelona

• On November 7, 1984, he got married to his longtime girlfriend Claudia Villafane. The couple went on to have two daughters, Dalma Nerea, and Giannina Dinorah.
  

  Diego Maradona with his wife Claudia Villafane and two daughters

• He then moved to Napoli where he witnessed the pinnacle of his career. He led the club to win the Serie A Italian Championships twice in 1986-87 and 1989-90. Additionally, Napoli efficaciously attained the Coppa Italia in 1987, the UEFA Cup in 1989 and the Italian Supercup in 1990.
  

  Diego Maradona playing for Napoli

• He was the first player in football history to set the world record transfer fee twice.

• He led Argentina to 1986 FIFA World Cup victory. He scored 5 goals and made 5 assists in the tournament. He scored a goal with his hand against England in the tournament, which famously came to be known as “Hand of God”.

• He led his team again in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. They reached the finals but lost to West Germany in the end.

• In 1991, he was tested positive in using cocaine and was handed a 15-month suspension.

• In 1992, he left Napoli to join Sevilla of Spain, where he played for a year. And later, joined Newell’s Old Boys.

• In the 1994 FIFA World Cup, he played just two games; scoring one goal before failing an ephedrine drug test, and was, hence, ousted from the tournament. This also marked the end of his International career.

• In 1995, he returned to Boca Juniors and played with the club for two years, before announcing his retirement in 1997 on the eve of his birthday.

• Since the 1980s he was a drug addict, which affected both his performance and health. In 2004, he suffered a major myocardial infarction following a cocaine overdose.

• In 2000, he was named the “Player of the Century” along with Brazilian legend Pele.

• In 2004, Maradona and Claudia Villafane divorced. In the proceedings, he confirmed having an illegitimate son, Diego Sinagra, who is a footballer in Italy. He also accepted of having an illegitimate daughter Jana Maradona with Valeria Sabalain.
  

  Diego Maradona with his two illegitimate children

• In 2008, his daughter Giannina married the Argentine footballer Sergio Aguero who later separated in 2013.

• In 2009, Italian authorities declared that he owed $45 million (₹306 Crore) in unpaid taxes, penalties, charges and interest. He paid just $48,000 (₹33 Lakh), 2 luxury watches and a set of earrings.

• He was the head coach of Argentina in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
  

  Diego Maradona as the coach of Argentina

• In 2017, he accused his two daughters and his ex-wife of stealing $4.5million from him and asked them to be jailed.

• In 2018, he was caught in a controversy when during the Argentina Iceland FIFA World Cup match he was seen smoking a cigar in the stadium, though smoking was banned in all stadiums during the World Cup.
  

  Diego Maradona smoking in the 2018 FIFA World Cup

• On November 25, 2020, just two weeks after he left hospital following surgery for a bleed on the brain, the legendary footballer died of a heart attack at home in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the age of 60. He had a history of health issues that were linked to his alcohol and drug abuse. Reportedly, his last words before he died were:
  

  I feel sick.’