Diego Maradona: Death, Career, Pelé & Messi Relationship – Full Guide

Few footballers hold a country’s imagination the way Diego Maradona still does. When he died on November 25, 2020, at 60, in Tigre outside Buenos Aires, the man who had dragged Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title left behind a messier legacy than any idol before him.

Matches for Argentina: 91 · Goals for Argentina: 34 · Club appearances: 490 · Club goals: 259 · Age at death: 60 · Date of death: November 25, 2020

Ten rows compress the contradiction: a 5 ft 5 in playmaker with 91 Argentina caps, 345 career goals, and exactly one World Cup — the one that made him immortal.

What happened to Diego Maradona?

On the afternoon of November 25, 2020, Maradona went into cardiac arrest at his home in Tigre, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Paramedics could not revive him. The official cause of death was acute pulmonary edema secondary to chronic heart failure — the bill for decades of cocaine and alcohol use, weight problems, and a body pushed past its limits (per BBC News, the UK’s public broadcaster).

Where was Maradona when he died?

Place: Tigre, Buenos Aires Province · Country: Argentina · Age: 60

He had been released from hospital on November 11 after surgery for a subdural hematoma — a blood clot on the brain — and was recovering at home in Tigre (BBC News). Two weeks later, his heart gave out.

What this means: Maradona’s last month — surgery, discharge, home, death — was the whole arc of his life in miniature.

Who is Diego Maradona to Messi?

For Lionel Messi, Maradona was both a mentor and the standard he was measured against from the day he arrived in Europe’s elite (per ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s Spanish-language football desk). Maradona had been the reason Argentina expected magic from the No. 10 shirt; Messi spent his whole career being judged against that expectation.

Did Messi attend Maradona’s funeral?

Yes. The morning after Maradona’s death, Lionel Messi went to the wake at the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace in Buenos Aires (BBC News).

The Maradona–Messi relationship

• Maradona defended Messi publicly during Messi’s difficult early years with Argentina (ESPN Deportes).
• The two shared the pitch in a 2018 charity match (ESPN Deportes).
• After Maradona’s death, Messi called him “the greatest Argentine of all time” (ESPN Deportes).

The relationship was never simple. For a decade and a half, every Argentina failure was framed as proof that Messi wasn’t Maradona, and every Messi masterclass reopened the question of who deserved the crown.

What this means: Messi’s 2022 World Cup win changed his side of the comparison forever; he now shares the one title that once belonged to Maradona alone (The Independent).

What ended Maradona’s career?

Drugs ended it first, and his body finished the job. In 1991, while at Napoli, Maradona tested positive for cocaine and was handed a 15-month ban (per SportsAdda). He never again reached the sustained level of his 1980s peak.

The 1994 World Cup ending

• Maradona played in four World Cups: 1982, 1986, 1990, and 1994 (The Independent).
• He scored 8 goals in 21 World Cup matches (The Independent).
• In 1994, he was sent home after testing positive for a banned stimulant (The Independent).

After 1994 came Sevilla, Newell’s Old Boys, then a final return to Boca Juniors. His last official match came in 1997, and at 37 he retired — slower, heavier, and more radioactive to sponsors than the man who had owned the 1986 World Cup (per SportsAdda).

The pattern: a career that peaked early and ended through a sequence of drug bans and physical decline, not one dramatic moment.

Maradona vs Pelé vs Messi: the numbers that kept the debate alive

World Cups: Pelé 3 · Maradona 1 · Messi 1 · Top-level goals: Pelé 757 · Maradona 346 · Messi 442 · International caps: Pelé 92 · Maradona 91 · Messi 178

Four metrics, one story: Pelé has the titles, Messi has the longevity, Maradona has the moment that defines both.

The numbers have a clear ranking on trophies — Pelé first, then Messi and Maradona — but the “best” verdict changes depending on whether you weight titles, longevity, or peak magic.

For a modern young player carrying that same weight, this profile of Lamine Yamal: Bio, Stats, Injuries & Comparisons shows how early the comparisons arrive.

The trade-off: if the GOAT argument is a trophy count, Maradona loses. If it’s about the single most brilliant performance in World Cup history — the 1986 quarterfinal against England — he may never be beaten.

What condition did Maradona have?

Maradona’s health problems were decades in the making. By the 2010s he was a public symbol of relapse and recovery: weight swings, heart problems, hospital admissions, and a cocaine addiction that never fully released him (BBC News).

The conditions that defined his final decade

• Cocaine addiction: first surfaced with his 1991 positive test at Napoli (per SportsAdda).
• Alcohol and weight problems: led to gastric bypass surgery in 2005 (per SportsAdda).
• Chronic heart failure: the listed cause of death was acute pulmonary edema secondary to this condition (BBC News).

The gastric bypass helped him drop weight and appeared to reset his health for a few years, but the underlying pattern of addiction always reasserted itself. By November 2020, his heart had no reserve left.

The subdural hematoma and his final hospitalization

Admitted: November 3, 2020 · Diagnosis: subdural hematoma · Discharged: November 11, 2020

The two-week turn from hospital to coffin was fast even by his standards. BBC News described his death as coming after a period of serious health problems and a recent surgery — in this case, an operation to relieve bleeding on the brain.

For a current athlete managing the same public triangle of performance, health, and money, this Travis Kelce: Career, Health, Net Worth & Swift Relationship breakdown shows how quickly the questions arrive in a different sport entirely.

Why this matters: his death certificate names heart failure, but the fuller mechanism was decades of addiction that left his heart unable to survive one more medical crisis.

What were Maradona’s last words?

According to family members, Maradona’s last coherent words were said a few hours before he died: “I don’t feel well.” (BBC News)

What the family said

“I don’t feel well.”

— Maradona’s family, as reported by BBC News

His nephew said he spoke those words during the night, hours before his heart stopped. There is no official medical recording of the moment, so the account rests entirely on family testimony.

The catch: last words from a famous death are fragile history, especially when the family became central to the legal case over his care. The date and place are solid; the sentence is not.

Did Pelé and Ronaldo know Maradona?

What did Pelé say when Maradona died?

“One day we will play together in the sky.”

— Pelé, in an Instagram tribute after Maradona’s death (BBC News)

Pelé called Maradona “a friend, a genius, a legend” in that same post (BBC News). Cristiano Ronaldo also posted a tribute (The Independent), and the Brazilian Ronaldo — who met Maradona several times at FIFA events — called him “an inspiration for all of us” (The Independent).

How much money did Maradona have when he died?

No one knows exactly, and the gap between the estimates is itself the story. BBC News reported that Argentine media widely cited an inheritance estimate between $75 million and $100 million, while Celebrity Net Worth put his net worth at just $500,000 at the time of death.

The $500,000 question

• Celebrity Net Worth estimate at death: $500,000 (BBC News).
• Argentine media inheritance reports: $75–100 million (BBC News).
• Debts: $10–15 million in back taxes owed to the Italian government (per SportsAdda).
• Estate: properties in Argentina and Dubai, plus unresolved legal disputes over child support (per SportsAdda).

Timeline: Maradona, from Lanús to Tigre

Eleven dates trace the arc: a boy from the outskirts, a World Cup, two bans, a comeback, and a death that opened a criminal file.

The pattern: peak, punishment, comeback, repeat. Maradona’s final month — surgery, discharge, home, death — compressed the whole cycle into three weeks.

Who is best: Pelé or Maradona?

The numbers show a clear ranking on trophies — Pelé first, then Messi and Maradona — but the “best” verdict changes depending on whether you weight titles, longevity, or peak magic.

Maradona vs Pelé: goals, titles, and impact

Pelé scored 767 career goals in 831 matches, Maradona scored 346 career goals in 688 matches. Pelé won three World Cups, Maradona won one. Yet no one who watched Maradona at his peak doubts the “genius” label.

Frequently asked questions