Family
His parents are Diego Maradona Snr and Dalma Salvadore Franco. His father is of
Mestizo extraction.
His maternal great-grandfather Mateo Kariolić was born in
Korčula,
Dalmatia, today's
Croatia (possibly then in the Austrian Empire), and emigrated to Argentina, where Maradona's grandmother Salvadora was born.
[citation needed] Salvadora named her daughter Dalma after the Croatian region, after whom Maradona named his eldest daughter.
[citation needed]
Maradona married long-time fiancée Claudia Villafañe on November 7, 1989 in Buenos Aires, after the birth of their daughters, Dalma Nerea (born on April 2, 1987) and Giannina Dinorah (born on May 16, 1989), by whom he became a grandfather in 2009.
In his autobiography, Maradona admits he was not always faithful to Claudia, even though he refers to her as the love of his life.
Maradona and Villafañe
divorced in 2004. Daughter Dalma has since asserted that the divorce was the best solution for all, as her parents remained on friendly terms. They traveled together to Napoli for a series of homages in June 2005
and were seen together on many other occasions, including the Argentina matches during
2006 FIFA World Cup.
During the divorce proceedings, Maradona admitted he was the father of
Diego Sinagra (born in Naples on September 20, 1986). The Italian courts had already so ruled in 1993, after Maradona refused to undergo DNA tests for proving or disproving his paternity. Diego Jr. met Maradona for the first time in May 2003 after tricking his way onto a golf course in Italy where Maradona was playing.
After the divorce, Claudia embarked on a career as a theatre producer, and Dalma is seeking an acting career; she has expressed her desire to attend the
Actor's Studio in
Los Angeles.
His younger daughter, Giannina, is now engaged to
Atletico Madrid striker
Sergio Agüero, with whom she has a son, Benjamin, born in Madrid on 19 February 2009. His son
Diego Sinagra is a footballer in Italy
Drug abuse and health issues
Maradona after gaining weight
From the mid-1980s until 2004 Diego Maradona was addicted to
cocaine. He allegedly began using the drug in Barcelona in 1983.
By the time he was playing for Napoli he had a regular addiction, which began to interfere with his ability to play football.
Over the years following his retirement his health seriously deteriorated. On January 4, 2000, while vacationing in
Punta del Este,
Uruguay, Maradona had to be rushed to the emergency room of a local clinic. In a press conference, doctors stated that it was detected heart muscle damage due to "an underlying health issue". It was later known that traces of cocaine were found in his blood and Maradona had to explain the circumstances to the police. After this he left Argentina and went to Cuba in order to follow a
drug rehab plan.
On 18 April 2004, doctors reported that Maradona had suffered a major
myocardial infarction following a cocaine overdose; he was admitted to intensive care in a Buenos Aires hospital. Scores of fans gathered around the clinic. He was taken off the
respirator on 23 April and remained in intensive care for several days before being discharged on 29 April. He tried to return to Cuba, where he had spent most of his time in the years leading up to the heart attack, but his family opposed, having filed a judicial petition to exercise his legal guardianship.
Maradona had a tendency to put on weight, and suffered increasingly from
obesity from the end of his playing career until undergoing
gastric bypass surgery in a clinic in
Cartagena de Indias,
Colombia on 6 March 2005.
His surgeon said that Maradona would fallow a liquid diet for three months in order to return back his normal weight.
When Maradona resumed public appearances shortly thereafter, he displayed a notably thinner figure.
On 29 March 2007, Maradona was readmitted to a hospital in Buenos Aires. He was treated for
hepatitis and effects of
alcohol abuse, and was released on 11 April, but re-admitted two days later.
In the following days there were constant rumors about his health, including three false claims of his death within a month.
After transfer to a psychiatric clinic specialising in alcohol-related problems, he was discharged on May 7.
On 8 May 2007, Maradona appeared on Argentine television and stated that he had quit drinking and had not used drugs in two and a half years.
Political views
Only in recent years, Maradona has shown sympathy to
left-wing ideologies. Before that he had been vocal in his support of
neoliberal Argentina President
Carlos Menem, and especially of his
Harvard University-educated economist
Domingo Cavallo. He became friends with Cuban leader
Fidel Castro while receiving treatment on the island. He also has a portrait of Fidel Castro
tattooed on his left leg and one of Fidel's second in command, fellow Argentine
Che Guevara on his right arm.
In his autobiography 'El Diego' he dedicated the book to several people and groups of people including Fidel Castro, he wrote "To Fidel Castro and, through him, all the
Cuban people".
Maradona is also a supporter of Venezuelan President
Hugo Chávez. In 2005 he visited Venezuela with the specific aim of meeting Chávez, who received him in
Miraflores. After this meeting Maradona claimed that he had come with the aim of meeting a "great man" ("un grande" in Spanish) but he had met instead a gigantic man ("un gigante" in Spanish, meaning he was more than great).
"I believe in Chávez, I am
Chavista. Everything Fidel does, everything Chávez does, for me is the best."
He has declared his opposition to what he identifies as
imperialism, notably during the 2005
Summit of the Americas in
Mar del Plata, Argentina. There he protested
George W. Bush's presence in Argentina, wearing a T-shirt labeled "
STOP BUSH" and referring to Bush as "human garbage".
In August 2007, Maradona went further, making an appearance on Chávez's weekly television show and saying: "I hate everything that comes from the United States. I hate it with all my strength."
In December 2007, Maradona presented a signed shirt with a message of support to the people of
Iran: it is to be displayed in the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' museum.
Financial problems
In March 2009 Italian officials announced that Maradona still owed the Italian government 37 million
euros in taxes; 23.5 million euros of which was accrued interest on his original debt. They reported that thus far, Maradona has paid only 42,000 euros, two luxury watches and a set of earrings.
Boca Juniors
Barcelona
Napoli
