Maradona: The Death of an Argentine Icon, the Battle for His Legacy, and Why Milei Cannot Stand Him
For most Europeans, Diego Armando Maradona needs no introduction.
He was the footballer who transformed Napoli, won the 1986 World Cup with Argentina and became one of the most extraordinary—and controversial—figures in the history of sport.
But outside Argentina, there is often little understanding of what Maradona actually represents.
He was not simply a football player.
In Argentina, Maradona became a social, cultural and political symbol.
And that is precisely why his death, his family, his fortune and the circumstances surrounding his final days remain such an explosive subject.
A brief introduction for those who know only the footballer
Maradona was born in 1960 in Villa Fiorito, one of the poorest areas of Greater Buenos Aires.
He came from a working-class family and became extraordinarily wealthy through football.
His rise—from poverty to global fame—became part of the Argentine mythology surrounding him.
But his life was also marked by addiction, health problems, turbulent relationships, financial disputes and increasingly complicated relationships with his family and advisers.
He was simultaneously loved as a national hero and criticised as a deeply imperfect human being.
That contradiction is essential to understanding Maradona.
As a Harvard analysis noted after his death, the emotional reaction to Maradona in Argentina was comparable, in some respects, to the national mourning surrounding Eva Perón. (Harvard Gazette)
For millions of Argentines, Maradona represented something larger than football: the possibility that someone born in extreme poverty could become the most famous Argentine on Earth.
What actually happened to Maradona?
On November 25, 2020, Maradona died at the age of 60.
He had recently undergone brain surgery for a subdural hematoma and was recovering in a rented house outside Buenos Aires.