Diego Armando Maradona

In a small provincial town, a suburb of Buenos Aires, Lanus, on October 30, 1960, Diego's fifth child was born to the family of a simple worker Diego Maradona and housewife Dalma Franco. He was the first boy in the family - before that, only girls were born to Dalma. The childhood of the future football star was spent in the Argentine slums, where he learned to handle the ball with the courtyard boys. Maradona's family was poor, so he had to be content with the simple entertainment of the slum dwellers.

The first, more or less decent, leather soccer ball was donated by Diego by his cousin. Such a grand gift for a boy from a poor family was presented on his 7th birthday. It was this ball that became the starting point in the future career of the great football player Diego Maradona.

Diego's father taught him to hit the ball against the wall, strike with his left foot, stay on the playing field, skillfully possessing the ball. Since the young football fan was left-handed, left-handed shots were especially easy for him. He increasingly took part in yard games and took the position of the libero - Diego became a striker a little later.

Even then, barely young Diego was eight years old, he was noticed by a specialist who was engaged in the selection of talents for the Argentinos Juniors club. He was offered to play for the junior team, which was called "Los Sebalitos" (Lukovichka).

Members of this community entertained spectators in between games, served balls to the players during the game. In "Onion" Diego was the youngest, but distinguished by special technique and stability, which made him a leader among other participants.

Trainer Francesco Cornejo called him a "tumbler doll" because he did not fall even after strong blows to his legs. They began to talk about Maradona as the future star of Argentine football after the junior match with River Plate, the then champion of Argentina. The match ended with the score 7: 1 in favor of Diego's team. By the way, five of the seven goals were scored by a young footballer, who at that time was only 10 years old.

From the age of 12, Maradona played for the Argentine juniors. But, despite all the successes, Diego's family, as before, was poor. In addition, she became even larger - Diego's mother gave birth to two more brothers and a sister.

At less than sixteen years old, in 1976, Diego entered the field as a member of the Argentinos Juniors, and in November of the same year he scored his first serious goal in his career. In his first adult team, the footballer played for five whole seasons, after which in 1981 he transferred under a contract to another Argentine club - Boca Juniors. In the same year, "Boca" became Argentine champion, having won the Metropolitano tournament in August.

The Spanish “Barcelona” in the summer of 1982 acquired Diego Maradona for seven and a half million dollars, setting a kind of transfer record. However, due to injury, the footballer missed more Barcelona matches. But still, in 1983, he took part in significant matches - the Super Cup and the Spanish Cup, as well as the Spanish League Cup, where his team became the leader, not without the help of Diego.

In total, the footballer played two seasons in Spain and scored 38 goals in total, taking part in 58 matches. Although Diego himself later called this period not the best in his career, a poll among the Spaniards in 1999 left Maradona as the best player in Barcelona after Cruyff and Cubala. Therefore, the Spanish period of Maradona cannot be called a failure.

At this time, he was pursued by failures: hepatitis, injuries, as well as conflicts with the head of the club. After another quarrel that arose between the emotional Diego and the president of the club, the footballer even wanted to buy out his contract and leave the team. But then the Italian Napoli entered the arena on time.

Maradona's move to Napoli again shook the public, marked by an even larger transfer amount - already as much as ten million dollars! During his presentation, more than seventy thousand spectators were present at the stadium, who immediately made Maradona their idol. This period is considered the most important in a football player's career. The best goals have been scored at this club. The results of seven seasons at Napoli:

Two scudettos were won - an unprecedented event that has never happened again; Championship in the UEFA Cup; Third and second place in the Italian Cup and Super Cup; Diego became the top scorer in Napoli history.

However, in March 1991, a positive doping test, which was taken from Maradona, caused the player to be suspended from the game for fifteen months. He did not return to Napoli after the end of the period of suspension, but moved to the Spanish Sevilla. But there he played only one season and after a conflict with the coach, he left the club.

Then the Argentine played for the Newells Old Boys, having spent only five matches for this club. But Maradona, known for his explosive nature, again did not find a common language with coach Jorge Castillo and was forced to leave the team. After the notorious shooting from an air rifle at journalists who were on guard at his house, Diego went to jail at all, and therefore could not participate in football.

After a year and a half break, Maradona returned to big football. He played about thirty matches with Boca and regained the favor of his fans through several extremely successful matches.

Unfortunately, another doping control led to a new disqualification. Cocaine and doping were found in Diego's blood. After this disqualification, Maradona returned to football for a short time, but the injury caused him to end his career.

A few days before his 37th birthday, in 1997, Diego Armando Maradona entered the football field for the last time as a player.

This nickname was attached to Maradona after the legendary match with the British, where Diego scored the ball with his hand in front of a crowd of thousands. This mistake was noticed by everyone except the referee, who counted the controversial goal.

That championship will never be forgotten by the entire football world, especially the fans of Argentina. After all, then they became world champions. Maradona justified his act, saying that it was not his hand, but "the hand of God himself." Since then, "Hand of God" has become a household name and has firmly "grown" to Diego.

Maradona's playing technique was distinguished by techniques uncharacteristic for football: rolling the ball at high speed, tossing, tossing the ball, the ability to easily circle an opponent. Thanks to the skills he gained in childhood, Diego had an accurate pass and a clear shot from his left foot and from free throws. His ability to hit from any position, score balls with his head, perform various feints made his technique unique and inimitable.

Good field vision allowed him to make assists. Wrestling is his element, because even if he lost the ball, he still did not leave the opponent alone until the ball returned to his territory. The coordination of movements allowed him to easily maneuver among opponents and maintain balance when necessary.

Many experts believe that thanks to the game of Maradona, the teams in which he played were able to reach a completely new level of football.

Maradona began his coaching career long before the official end of the football period in his life. During his disqualification in 1994, which only extended to footballers, he decided to try his hand at coaching.

The little-known club Deportivo Mandia will make his debut as a mentor. But this experience will quickly end after Diego's fight with one of the owners of the club. Diego Maradona coached Rosing for one season, but this activity did not bring much results.

Despite the first disastrous results, Maradona nevertheless became the coach of the Argentina national team in 2008. He stayed in this post for only two years, but managed to declare himself as a worthy mentor. Although the Argentines did not win the 2010 World Cup, where they were defeated by the Germans with a score of 0: 4, Maradona was still pleased with the game of his players.

After the championship, the Argentine Football Association decided not to renew the contract with Maradona.

After a year's break in work, Maradona was offered to coach the Al Wasl club from the United Arab Emirates. This club did not achieve serious achievements during the time of Maradona, but it often appeared in various scandals. Because of her explosive nature, Maradona was asked to leave the post of coach of the Al Wasl club ahead of schedule.

Plasticity and accuracy of movements, as well as excellent coordination allowed Maradona to prove himself well in the dance field. The dance program, which was broadcast by the Italian channel RAI, was his debut as a dancer. However, due to difficulties with the Italian authorities, he refused to further participate in the program.

In 2000, the legendary footballer wrote an autobiographical book “I am Diego”. Two years later, Diego released a CD with the hit "Hand of God". By the way, all the proceeds from the sale of the disc were transferred to the Argentine hospital for disadvantaged children.

The famous Serbian director Emir Kusturica directed the film Maradona in 2008. With the help of this work, the cult director wanted to explain the phenomenon of Diego Armando from the artistic side.

Diego has always been known for his sympathy for such leaders as Hugo Chavez, Nestor Kirkschner, Fidel Castro - the political leaders of the left regiment. He even had Che Guevara's tattoos on his right shoulder and Fidel's on his leg. He called himself a man “of the people”.

Such positions would definitely play into his hands if he wanted to claim a high political post. However, a reputation for being an emotional and aggressive player in both the political and the playing field will always be against him.

It is difficult for many to imagine the impulsive and restless Maradona in the bureaucratic chair, signing papers. Therefore, his candidacy will always be marked as symbolic in the political ring.

The unpleasant drug trail that has been following Maradona since his time at Barcelona has caused his health problems. Then he explained this addiction by the opportunity to integrate into an unfamiliar environment and feel comfortable in it. Subsequently, the football player has repeatedly tried to get rid of addiction in clinics in Argentina and Cuba.

In 2000, Maradona suffered a hypertensive crisis due to cardiac arrhythmias. Then people close to Diego denied the connection of such an event with the football player's drug addiction, saying that the crisis happened due to heart problems and nervous strain. After finishing treatment at the clinic, Diego went to Liberty Island, where he underwent a rehabilitation course in a closed medical institution.

A heart attack crippled Maradona in April 2004. Overweight problems and drug addiction that were not defeated became the cause of this sad event. After leaving the hospital, Diego weighed as much as 120 kg. In the photo of those years, a person full of disgrace appears in front of the fans, in whom it is difficult to identify the once lean football player. With a relatively small height (165 cm), this weight looked critical.

But he managed to pull himself together and after surgery to reduce the stomach and a special diet, he lost 50 kg.

In 2004, the football legend announced that he had got rid of drug addiction forever for the sake of his daughters. Apparently, he succeeded, but in 2007 he ended up in the clinic for intoxication of the body with alcohol. Then his liver was in a critical, pre-cirrhotic state. But this time he managed to get out and get out of an unpleasant situation with minimal losses.

This flamboyant football leader became famous for high-profile scandals no less than for his game.

The loudest scandals involving Diego:

"God's hand" - this is perhaps the loudest scandal in the history of football, occurred in 1986 at the championship in Mexico City. 22 years later, he repented of the hand-scored goal and apologized for this act. By the way, the goal was then scored by the judge. Fighting - the Italian Cup final was marked by a real sports carnage, in which all players from both teams participated, including Diego. Then he was disqualified for three months. Drugs - during doping tests, he was twice convicted of using illegal substances. For the second time, traces of several (about five) components of various narcotic compounds were found in the blood. Shooting journalists - the paparazzi, who were on duty at his windows, were the victims of an air gun. All four journalists were slightly injured, and Diego was sentenced to two years in prison.

Maradona had a special relationship with journalists - he repeatedly fought with them, smashed their car windows or destroyed equipment. 2006 was generally marked for Maradona by several scandals: he was accused of tax evasion, organizing a car accident, which caused several injuries.

Maradona also smashed the head of a girl who somehow hooked his daughter in a conversation. As a result, the victim was given ten stitches, and Diego was responsible for what he did in court.

No matter how complex the relationship of Maradona with the journalistic brotherhood, he himself several times stood on their path. After the end of his football career, he began to act as a sports expert in specialized programs or as a commentator for competitions. Diego has repeatedly commented on the matches of the World Cup in 2002, and in 2006 he commented on the matches of the World Cup in Germany.

Maradona managed to be the host of the popular Argentinean program "Night of the Ten" in 2005. As part of this program, he interviewed world famous people (Mike Tyson, Fidel Castro, Anatoly Karpov). In 2005, this program won the Best Entertainment Program award, making Maradona her version of the person of the year.

Diego was officially married only once to Claudia Villafagnier, having lived with her for 25 years. Young Diego was only seventeen years old when he decided to invite a neighbor's girl Claudia to dance. A few days later, he already introduced her to her parents.

However, they did not get married immediately, Maradona proposed to Claudia only after the birth of their second child (daughter) in 1989. The first daughter was born a year earlier. The wedding took place at the Luna Park stadium in Buenos Aires and cost Diego a whopping two million dollars. There were about 1,500 guests who came to congratulate the newlyweds.

After ten years of family life, Maradona left home, and five years later Claudia filed for divorce. However, despite this, the couple managed to maintain good, friendly relations until recently. The ex-wife even acted for some period as an agent of the ex-football player.

The personal life of the legendary scorer has always been no less interesting than his playing activities. After the divorce, Maradona met with physical education teacher Veronica Ojeda, who bore him a son. Diego recognized him only a month later and broke up with Veronica.

Legends circulated about the football player's many tumultuous romances back in the days of Barcelona. He was accused of complicity in the transfer of Argentine prostitutes to Italy. The brothel owner was allegedly engaged in the supply of live goods together with Diego. Among the football player's entourage there were such individuals who claimed that while living in Naples, he had five mistresses a day! But all this information remained at the level of rumors, not being confirmed or refuted by the football player himself.

Today the heart of Maradona is occupied by the 25-year-old model Rocio Oliva. He even decided for her to undergo plastic surgery in order to look younger against her background. However, it has not yet come to the wedding, although he has already made an offer to his beloved.

Until today, it is believed that Claudia Villafagnier was the only official wife of the football legend.

In an official marriage with Claudia, Diego had two daughters of the weather - Janine and Dalma. But it is believed that Maradona has only five children. Diego has a daughter from twenty-year-old Valeria Sabalain, who was born in 1996. But the football player did not want to voluntarily admit his paternity, but the DNA examination put everything in its place, and he was forced to pay alimony to his daughter. The illegitimate son from Veronica Ojedo was also not immediately recognized by Diego.

Not so long ago it became known that the football player still recognized the illegitimate son, whose name is the same as his - Diego. Diego Maradona Jr. was born back in 1986. But then the football player categorically refused to acknowledge paternity. Only 29 years later, Maradona dared to meet with his son. He recognized him officially and noted the striking similarity with himself.

Claudia Villafagnier in 2016 decided to sue Maradona because of the newly discovered circumstances associated with his illegitimate children. The lawyer of the ex-wife of the bombardier assures that his client has suffered a lot because of Diego's betrayal. In addition, it became known that another fifteen-year-old guy claims to be the son of Maradona.

Both cases of infidelity were during the couple's marriage, which gives Claudia a reason to seek compensation in court. And even if the last guy turns out to be a fake son, the ex-spouse will not back down. All these stories caused a great moral damage to Claudia, which she intends to compensate.

1. The legendary footballer's debt to the Italian tax authorities is about forty million dollars. When crossing the Italian border, Maradona loses some valuable things every time. Previously, the police confiscated his expensive Rolex watch (2006), and later (2009) took the earring from him, subsequently selling it at auction.

2. Maradona is not a purebred Argentinean - his ancestors emigrated to Argentina from Italy. A more detailed study of the football player's genealogical tree revealed Croatian roots. The biography of the great football player has not yet been fully studied and fully studied.

3. A survey conducted by FIFA found that 53% of respondents consider Maradona the best footballer of the twentieth century. But, despite this, such an honorary title was given to Pele. Maradona was furious and announced that he would challenge the decision in court. As a result, he was still recognized as the best football player along with Pele.

4. When the footballer was admitted to the Neapolitan team, in his honor all the city's sculptures were dressed in T-shirts with number 10 - this was the number Diego played at Napoli. The hit of the season that year was the Maradona pizza. And this reception was not accidental - the result of the game at Napoli was three victorious years - the first in the history of the club's foundation.

5. The management of "Napoli" presented Maradona Ferrari F-40 for the fact that he once rejected the offer of the notorious Silvio Berlusconi, who offered him a lucrative contract and an apartment in the center of Milan. But Diego was then in the "Napoli" and refused the tempting offer, for which he was noted by the club's management.

Throughout his career, the footballer has been recognized several times as the top scorer, the best player in the world championship, the author of the best goal and many more times the “best” in various near-football categories. Despite his scandalousness and ambiguity, this person, whose phenomenon has not yet been fully understood, today is a living football legend and an extraordinary personality.

Maradona himself has sincerely repented of all his sins more than once, but always claimed that he had not tarnished the honor of the ball in any way. Today, every release of the legend to the public is accompanied by increased attention - everyone is already waiting for what Maradona will teach this time.

Diego Armando Maradona 's estimated Net Worth, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & many more details have been updated below.

Let's check, How Rich is Diego Armando Maradona in 2020 ?

Diego Armando Maradona Net Worth 2021

Diego Armando Maradona 's revenue is $1.5M in 2021. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Diego Armando Maradona and could vary in the range between $709.5K - $1.5M.

Diego Armando Maradona Net Worth 2020

Diego Armando Maradona 's revenue is $2M in 2020. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Diego Armando Maradona and could vary in the range between $701.5K - $1.4M.

Diego Armando Maradona Net Worth 2019

Diego Armando Maradona 's revenue is $1.7M in 2019. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Diego Armando Maradona and could vary in the range between $605.5K - $1.1M.

Diego Armando Maradona Net Worth 2018

Diego Armando Maradona 's revenue is $1.9M in 2018. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Diego Armando Maradona and could vary in the range between $582.9K - $1.2M.

Diego Armando Maradona Net Worth 2017

Diego Armando Maradona 's revenue is $1.7M in 2017. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Diego Armando Maradona and could vary in the range between $736.2K - $1.5M.

Diego Armando Maradona Net Worth 2016

Diego Armando Maradona 's revenue is $1.1M in 2016. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Diego Armando Maradona and could vary in the range between $839.8K - $1.1M.

Diego Armando Maradona Net Worth 2015

Diego Armando Maradona 's revenue is $1.5M in 2015. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Diego Armando Maradona and could vary in the range between $774.4K - $1.8M.

It is an overall forecast for the net worth of Diego Armando Maradona. The evaluation covers the latest 5 years and an approximation for next year. See above to learn how much money does Diego Armando Maradona makes a year.

The range above shows an estimation based on evaluation generated by public information about sponsorships or other sources found on the internet. It's summarized data from Diego Armando Maradona's projects existing in AidWiki's repository. It's an approximation of the revenue compiled by AidWiki and may not correspond with the real amount.