Maradona is laid to rest after thousands of fans lined the streets of Buenos Aires to pay their respects as his coffin was driven to the cemetery

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Diego Maradona has been laid to rest after thousands of fans lined the streets of Buenos Aires to pay their respects as his coffin was driven to the cemetery on Thursday. 

The 1986 World Cup winner was taken to the Bella Vista cemetery on the outskirts of the capital - where his parents are buried - for a private ceremony attended by family and close friends.

Maradona died of a heart attack aged 60 on Wednesday just two weeks after being discharged from hospital for a bleed on his brain.

Thousands of fans packed the streets around the presidential palace where Maradona lay in state on Thursday and thousands more lined the highways in the afternoon to catch a glimpse of his hearse as it rolled past surrounded by police vehicles.

Maradona's daughters Dalma, 33, and Giannina, 31, by his first wife and childhood sweetheart Claudia Villafane, were seen wiping tears from their eyes as they left for the funeral.    

It comes after passions boiled over outside the palace when a mile-long column of fans arrived to pay their respects to the Argentinian hero but were blocked off by riot police.

Due to the sheer numbers many were unable to throw their football jerseys and flowers by Maradona's coffin and so they scrapped ferociously with heavily-armoured police as if attending a football derby.  

President Alberto Fernandez has declared three days of national mourning and earlier visited the casket.

'He was someone who touched the sky with his hands but never took his feet off the ground,' the president said.   

The coffin with the remains of late Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona is carried by his family and friends at the Jardin Bella Vista cemetery, in Buenos Aire

Aerial view of the burial of late Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona at the Jardin Bella Vista cemetery, in Buenos Aires province, on Thursday

The hearse carrying the casket of soccer legend Diego Maradona drives to the cemetery in Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 26, 2020

Aerial view of the burial of late Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona at the Jardin Bella Vista cemetery, in Buenos Aires province, on November 26, 2020

The daughters of the late Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, Dalma, 33, (left) and Giannina, 31, leave the Casa Rosada presidential palace at the end of the wake in Buenos Aires on Thursday

Pallbearers take the coffin to the hearse following Maradona's wake at the presidential palace on Thursday

Maradona's coffin draped in the Argentinian flag is carried out of the presidential palace late on Thursday afternoon

Pallbearers carry the casket of soccer legend Diego Maradona after a public viewing at the presidential palace Casa Rosada, in Buenos Aires

The hearse carrying the casket of Diego Maradona leaves the government house in Buenos Aires, Argentina

The hearse carrying the casket of Diego Maradona leaves the government house in Buenos Aires

A hearse carries the casket of Diego Maradona to his final resting place after lying in state at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday

A close relative or a family member of Maradona gestures with tears in his eyes as he leaves the presidential palace with the coffin on Thursday

Friends and family arrive for Maradona's funeral on the outskirts of Buenos Aires on Thursday evening

People react on the street as the hearse carrying the casket of soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona travels to Bella Vista cemetery, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Aerial view of the burial of late Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona at the Jardin Bella Vista cemetery, in Buenos Aires province

The hearse carrying the casket of soccer legend Diego Maradona arrives at the cemetery in Buenos Aires, Argentina

People react as the funeral procession with the casket of soccer legend Diego Maradona leaves the presidential palace Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires, Argentina

The hearse carrying the casket of soccer legend Diego Maradona arrives at the cemetery in Buenos Aires

Friends and family carry the casket of soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona, at the cemetery in Buenos Aires, Argentina

A fan touches the hearse carrying the body of Diego Maradona that transports him through 25 de Mayo Highway to the cemetery 

Fans on the side of the highway cheer to the hearse carrying the body of Diego Maradona that transports him to the cemetery 

People react on the street as the hearse carrying the casket of soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona travels to Bella Vista cemetery

Aerial view of the burial of late Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona at the Jardin Bella Vista cemetery, in Buenos Aires province, on Thursday

Fans on the side of the highway cheer to the hearse carrying the body of Maradona to the burial ceremony

People react on the street as the hearse carrying the casket of soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona travels to Bella Vista cemetery, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires

The hearse carrying the casket of soccer legend Diego Maradona drives to the cemetery in Buenos Aires, Argentina

But amidst the grief, there has been fury at a funeral worker who desecrated Maradona's body by posing for a photograph with a hand over the sporting great's face while giving a thumbs up to the camera.

Diego Molina has received death threats and been fired by the funeral parlour which was hired to prepare Maradona's corpse to lie in state. 

Molina was one of the men tasked with preparing Maradona's body ahead of the private open-coffin wake for family and friends earlier today.

A new photograph has emerged of Molina standing up in a van leaving the morgue in Buenos Aires following an autopsy ahead of Maradona's body being transported to his state funeral.    

Since his picture was shared to social media, funeral worker Molina has been sent death threats from furious fans. Some have called for him to be stripped of his Argentinian citizenship.

Owners of the funeral parlour Sepelios Pinier confirmed to local media that the worker has lost his job. 

One Maradona fan who saw the picture wrote: 'I want this fat baldie who took a picture of himself by Diego's body dead. I want him dead. DEAD.'  

Another said: 'He should be stripped of his Argentinian citizenship. You don't do something like this. Complete lack of respect.'

Police brawl with a fan desperate to say his last respects to Maradona amid ugly scenes close to the presidential palace on Thursday

Crowds in Buenos Aires clashed with police as the mass visit to pay their respects to the late Diego Maradona turned sour

Riot police locked down the streets of Buenos Aires as they clashed with fans of Maradona desperate to pay their last respects

Aerial view of the burrial of late Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona as his family and friends carry the coffin with his remains at the Jardin Bella Vista cemetery, in Buenos Aires province, on November 26

Friends and family carry the casket of soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona, at the cemetery in Buenos Aires

Relatives and friends carry the coffin of the late Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona during his funeral at the Jardin Bella Vista cemetery, in Buenos Aires province

A caravan carrying the casket of Diego Maradona to his final resting place departed the Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Mourners embrace as they wait to see Diego Maradona lying in state outside the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday

The flower car follows the hearse carrying the body of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona as it enters Jardin Bellavista cemetery to be buried during a private ceremony on Thursday

The hearse carrying the casket of Diego Maradona leaves the government house in Buenos Aires

Supporters of Diego Armando Maradona clamber up the fence surrounding the precinct of the presidential palace on Thursday

The funeral cortege of late Argentinian football legend Diego Armando Maradona leaves the Casa Rosada government house to the cemetery, in Buenos Aires

The hearse caring the casket of Diego Maradona leaves the government house in Buenos Aires, Argentina

A hearse drives the casket of Diego Maradona to his final resting place after lying in state at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires

The hearse carrying the body of Diego Maradona travels along the highway

Maradona's lawyer Matias Morla revealed Molina's name on Twitter, along with a picture of him, as he pledged to take legal action.

He wrote in a menacing message alongside his tweet: 'This is Diego Molina, the author of the photo taken beside Maradona's coffin.

'He's Pinier's head of burials. Diego Molina is the swine that took the picture of himself alongside Maradona.

'For the memory of my friend I am not going to rest until he pays for this aberration.'

The earlier viewing of Maradona's coffin at the Argentine presidential mansion was halted shortly before 6pm, 12 hours after it started, at the request of the footballer's family.

The body of the Argentine icon was taken away for burial, frustrating many who were waiting to pay their respects and causing new tensions at the gates of the cemetery.

Fans, some draped in the national flag, sang anthems as they formed a line that stretched more than 20 blocks from the Plaza de Mayo, where Argentinians gathered to celebrate the Maradona-led triumph in the 1986 World Cup.

Relatives and friends bury the remains of Diego Maradona while police keep fans outside the Jardin de Bellavista cemetery in Buenos Aires

People gather on the street near Bella Vista cemetery, where the casket for soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona arrives for the burial, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires

Fans wait on the side of the highway for the hearse carrying the body of Diego Maradona

People react on the street near Bella Vista cemetery, where the hearse carrying the casket for soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona arrives for the burial, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires

Fans on the side of the highway cheer for the hearse carrying the body of Diego Maradona

The hearse carrying the casket of soccer legend Diego Maradona arrives at the cemetery in Buenos Aires

Fans follow the funeral procession that moves the remains of Diego Armando Maradona from the Plaza de Mayo to the cemetery passes by, in Buenos Aires

Hearse carrying the body of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona enters Jardin Bellavista cemetery to be buried

People clash with police during the wake of soccer legend Diego Maradona, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, earlier Thursday

But with the time for viewing the coffin at the presidential palace drawing short, police moved to cut off the back end of the crowd, enraging fans who hurled rocks and other objects at officers, who responded with rubber bullets.

The crowd overwhelmed organisers and the violence resulted in injuries and arrests, which led Maradona's family to end the public visitation.

The casket was placed in a car that carried the former footballer's name on a paperboard by the window.

Desperate to say goodbye, Maradona's fans climbed on the fences of the presidential mansion as if they were in a stadium, while firefighters worked to clear the ground.

'Diego is not dead, Diego lives in the people,' people chanted as the coffin was taken to a cemetery outside Buenos Aires.

The motorcade, accompanied by police, was followed on a local highway by dozens of honking cars and motorcycles.

Hundreds of fans blocked entry to the cemetery before the arrival of Maradona's casket, dancing and chanting as police moved in to open a way. The crowd continued making noise after the final ceremony began. 

While the viewing bore the hallmarks of a state funeral, with Maradona's casket laid out in the presidential palace, the atmosphere often was that of a football stadium - chanting, singing, pushing and the whiff of alcohol. 

Funeral parlour worker Diego Molina (left) has received death threats from football fans after posing for a picture next to the open coffin of Diego Maradona. Right: The coffin was shut for the public send-off, which saw the casket lying in state at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires as scores of fans lined up to pay their respects outside

Diego Molina (pictured in a van transporting Maradona's body to his wake) has received death threats for desecrating the sporting great's body after he posed with one hand resting on Maradona's head and the other giving a thumbs up

Argentina's football players pay tribute to Maradona as scarves, flags and football jerseys are piled up around the coffin draped in the national flag at his wake in the presidential palace on Thursday

Maradona's final photo with his seven-year-old son Diego Fernando, whose mother is his former long-term girlfriend Veronica Ojeda

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez (L) and his partnet Fabiola Yanez paying tribute to the coffin of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona at the burning chapel in Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires on November 26

A replica of the World Cup trophy which Maradona led Argentina to in 1986 in Mexico stands beside the coffin draped in the Argentinian flag as piles of football jerseys lie on the floor of the presidential palace in Buenos Aires on Thursday

Riot police try to disperse people gathering in front of the Casa Rosada presidential palace to mourn the death of soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona, in Buenos Aires

Police detain a soccer fan at Plaza de Mayo, where mourners are lining up to see the casket with the remains of Diego Maradona lying in state inside the presidential palace, in Buenos Aires

An injured man is helped by others during clashes with police while people were lining up for the wake of soccer legend Diego Maradona at the presidential palace Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires

People scuffle as riot police try to disperse them in front of the Casa Rosada presidential palace as they gather to mourn the death of soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona, in Buenos Aires

Riot police prepare for thousands of mourners heading down one of the grand avenues in Buenos Aires leading to the presidential palace

Riot police officers clash with fans of Maradona during the funeral of the late football legend on Thursday

Face to face: Thousands of mourners gathered at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires to see Diego Maradona's casket today - but there were scuffles as people jostled to get inside and see their hero 

Riot police hold up their shields as Maradona fans pick up a metal barrier near the presidential palace in Buenos Aires today

Riot police try to keep order as Maradona fans - some of them wearing the colours of his former team Boca Juniors - push to enter the presidential palace and see his coffin before his burial on Thursday 

A football fan holds up the colours of Argentina, worn so often by Maradona, as he joins the public mourning of the footballer's death in Buenos Aires today 

On display: Mourners left flowers, football shirts and flags at the foot of Maradona's coffin, as they filed past it at the presidential palace where it is lying in state on the first of three days of national mourning in Argentina 

Public procession: Flags, flowers and football shirts are thrown at the foot of Maradona's casket today as thousands of mourners file past the coffin to play their last respects to Argentina's greatest football hero  

People continued lining up outside the building into the afternoon to pay their respects to Maradona, who was due to be buried at the same cemetery as his parents later on Thursday 

Diego Maradona's coffin is lifted out of an ambulance and taken into the Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires in the early hours of this morning after the football legend died on Wednesday at the age of 60

Fans wept and blew kisses as they passed the wooden coffin, some striking their chests with closed fists and shouting, 'Let's go, Diego.'

It was draped with the Argentine flag and shirts bearing his famed No. 10 from the national team and the Boca Juniors club, with other jerseys tossed around it by passing admirers.

Open visitation began at 6:15 a.m. after a few hours of privacy for family and close friends. The first to bid farewell were his daughters and close family members.

His former wife, Claudia Villafane, came with Maradona's daughters Dalma and Gianinna.

Later came Veronica Ojeda, also an ex-wife, with their son, Dieguito Fernando.

Jana Maradona, who the player recognised as his daughter only a few years ago, also attended.

Then came former teammates of the 1986 World Cup-winning squad, including Oscar Ruggeri. Other Argentine footballers, such as Boca Juniors' Carlos Tevez, showed up, too.

Early in the morning some fans grew impatient as police tried to maintain order, and began throwing bottles and pieces of metal fencing at officers outside the presidential offices in the heart of Buenos Aires. Police at one point used tear gas to try to control them.

Interior Minister Wado de Pedro said he was upset over what he called the 'craziness' of police actions against fans. 'This popular tribute cannot end in repression and running of those that came to say goodbye to Maradona,' he said.  

President Fernandez appeared at midday and placed on the casket a jersey from the Argentinos Juniors team, where Maradona started his career in 1976.

In tears, Fernandez also laid two handkerchiefs of the human rights organisation Mother of the Plaza de Mayo, who wore them for years to protest the disappearance of their children under Argentina's military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983. 

Maradona, an outspoken leftist who had an image of Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara tattooed on one bicep, was a friend of the Madres and other rights groups.

The lines started forming outside the Casa Rosada only hours after Maradona's death was confirmed and grew to several blocks.

A huge mural of Maradona's face was painted on the tiles that cover the Plaza de Mayo, near the Casa Rosada, which was decorated with a giant black ribbon at the entrance.

The first fan to visit was Nahuel de Lima, 30, using crutches to move because of a disability.

'He made Argentina be recognized all over the world, who speaks of Maradona also speaks of Argentina,' de Lima said.

'Diego is the people. ... Today the shirts, the political flags don't matter. We came to say goodbye to a great that gave us a lot of joy.'

A fan wearing an Argentina shirt in tribute to Maradona cries at a gathering outside the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Buenos Aires where the football legend began his career as a young player 

Supporters of rival Argentinian teams, River Plate and Boca Juniors, embrace as they wait to enter the presidential palace to see the coffin of a man who was revered in the country as the captain of a World Cup-winning team in 1986 

Maradona and lawyer Matias Morla, who today claimed that the football legend was left for 12 hours without help at some point before his death 

Maradona's death has also been keenly felt in Europe, especially in Naples where he steered an unfashionable side to two Italian league titles and where fans let off flares in tribute outside the stadium last night. 

In Britain, where he is best remembered for his 'Hand of God' goal against England in 1986 - an act of brazen cheating followed only minutes later by one of the greatest goals in football history - a minute's silence took place ahead of Liverpool's Champions League match on Wednesday night. 

At the Argentinian embassy in London, fans left flowers and pictures of Maradona while a banner outside said 'Thank you, Diego' with a picture of him lifting the World Cup.  

An autopsy report leaked to Argentine media said Maradona died in his sleep after suffering heart failure, only two weeks after leaving hospital following the brain surgery.   

Medics also detected dilated cardiomyopathy, a medical condition in which the heart muscle becomes weakened and enlarged and cannot pump enough blood to the rest of the body.

His nephew Johnny Esposito was the last person to see him alive, according to the leaked report, before doctors with an appointment to see him went to his estate on Wednesday and found him unresponsive.  

An aerial view of people queuing along the Avenida de Mayo to reach the presidential mansion during Thursday's wake 

A banner of Maradona's face in the colours of his former club side Boca Juniors is carried along the queue outside the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires today 

Scuffles briefly broke out near the presidential palace today as crowds jostled to enter and police had to hold people back

Argentinian police hold up their riot shields to fend off the restless football fans pushing to enter the government building 

A scuffle broke out in Buenos Aires as thousands of fans arrived to see the coffin despite the coronavirus outbreak 

A mourner touches a police officer's riot shield as people line up to see Maradona's casket following his sudden death 

Football fans were in tears as they left the presidential palace after seeing Maradona's casket ahead of the player's burial 

Grieving fans let off flares at the Argentinos Juniors stadium where Maradona began his professional career in the 1970s 

Football founds surround the hearse carrying Diego Maradona's coffin to an undertaker in Buenos Aires on Wednesday 

Maradona's finest hour: Lifting the World Cup after inspiring Argentina to victory in the 1986 final against West Germany. In the quarter-final against England, Maradona scored two of the most famous goals of the 20th century - the 'Hand of God' followed by the 'Goal of the Century'

LAST PICTURE: Maradona's death comes just three weeks after he underwent surgery on a blood clot in his brain (pictured), and less than a month after he turned 60

'You took us to the top of the world. You made us immensely happy. You were the greatest of all,' the president said. 'Thanks for having existed, Diego. We will miss you for a lifetime.' 

The Argentinian Pope Francis also paid tribute to a man he had met several times at the Vatican, while official Vatican media described Maradona as 'football's poet'.  

'God is dead': World media leads tributes  

Maradona's face dominated the back pages - and many front pages - of world newspapers this morning after the football legend's death in Argentina. 

Adapting his most famous phrase, many headlines spoke of Maradona being in the 'hands of God' - or saw the man as a deity in his own right. 

French sports magazine L'Equipe had a full-page cover of Maradona with the headline: 'God is dead'. 

Others, including Spanish newspaper AS, combined his number 10 shirt with the Spanish word for God to make the word D10S - or alternatively used the word for goodbye to make AD10S. 

The image of Maradona's greatest triumph, winning the 1986 World Cup with Argentina, was also a dominant theme, while some Spanish papers highlighted his spell at Barcelona. 

Spain's Marca newspaper also ran with a touching quote of Maradona's which read: 'If I am reborn, I want to be a footballer. And I want to be Diego Armando Maradona again. I am a player who has made people happy, and that is enough for me.' 

L'Equipe's front page on Thursday pays tribute to Maradona with 'God is dead' on the front

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'The Pope was informed about the death of Diego Maradona, he recalls the times he met him in these past years with affection, and he is remembering him in his prayers,' a spokesman said. 

Maradona is survived by five children, including his daughters Dalma, 33, and Giannina, 31, by his first and only wife Claudia Villafane, 58, to whom he was married from 1984 to 2004. 

He had his youngest son Diego Fernando with his long-term girlfriend Veronica Ojeda in 2013, while he only acknowledged Diego Junior, 34, and daughter Jana, 23, in the last five years, both born after short flings.  

Paramedics made an unsuccessful attempt to revive him after they arrived at the rented house in the gated residential estate of San Andres north of Buenos Aires he had moved to after leaving hospital following his operation on November 11. 

Public prosecutor John Broyad, speaking outside San Andres as the body was taken to a nearby morgue,said: 'Diego Armando Maradona died around 12pm local time. The forensic police began their work at 4pm.

'No signs of any criminality or violence have been detected. The autopsy is being carried out to determine beyond any doubt the cause of death but we can say at this stage that everything is pointing to natural causes.'  

Family members were summoned to Maradona's home north of the Argentine capital before his death was announced. 

Maradona, who only turned 60 on October 30, spelled out while he was still alive the message he wanted engraved on his tombstone.

The football legend gave an interview 15 years ago in which he revealed that 'getting old with his grandchildren would mean a peaceful death' for him.

Asked what he would say in the cemetery to himself, he said: 'Thanks for having played football because it's the sport that gave me most happiness and freedom and it's like having touched the sky with my hand. Thanks to the ball.

'Yes, I would put on the tombstone, 'Thanks to the ball'.'

A hearse carrying Maradona's body was escorted by police to the medical examiner's office as fans lined the surrounding streets to catch a glimpse of it on Wednesday afternoon.

Thousands of fans later poured onto the streets in Argentina, many at the entrance to the football club in Buenos Aires that Maradona had managed since September last year, Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata.

They hung up a banner with the legend's face painted across it and an image of his mother Dalma Salvadora Franco. 

Fans wave their shirts in tribute to Maradona last night as they gathered by the Obelisk in the Argentinian capital

Mourners sit in contemplation next to a shrine in Buenos Aires where candles were lit and football shirts left in tribute 

Flowers, posters and other items are left at a makeshift shrine outside the stadium named after Maradona in Buenos Aires 

Admirers also gathered at the door of the morgue where Maradona's body was taken after he was found dead on Wednesday

A crowd of fans - some of them wearing the colours of Argentinian team Boca Juniors where Maradona played for part of his career - gather near the presidential palace last night ahead of Maradona's wake 

The Boca Juniors stadium was lit up in the team's colours in tribute to Maradona who used to play for the Argentinian team 

In Naples, fans let off flares outside the San Paolo stadium where Maradona steered the team to two Italian league titles 

A woman wearing an Argentina number 10 shirt holds her head in grief as she gathers with other fans to pay tribute in Buenos Aires' La Paternal neighbourhood 

Argentinian football fans pay tribute to their fallen hero on Wednesday following news of the World Cup winner's death 

A visibly emotional fan attends a vigil for Maradona in front of the Boca Juniors stadium where Maradona once played 

In England, players held a minute's silence before Liverpool's Champions League game against Atalanta on Wednesday night

Argentina's flag was flying at half mast at the country's embassy in London today following the death of Diego Maradona 

In the Buenos Aires town of Villa Devoto where Maradona grew up, his former neighbours placed flags on their balconies as commentary from his World Cup goals blared from loudspeakers.

Fans gathered to exchange anecdotes about Maradona, with one 60-year-old woman recalling how he would escape from his childhood home.   

'This was a poor area when Maradona lived here. The streets were filled with rock,' she said. 'He never forgot about his roots.'   

A man sitting in the stands at the stadium where Maradona debuted as a 15-year-old for Argentina Juniors on October 20, 1976 recalled being there on the day and said he was 'a star'.

'The truth is that football has died,' he said. 'The truth is he had the life that he had. No one can censor it. It was difficult being Diego, coming out from where he grew up.'  

Brazilian legend Pele, 80, constantly compared with Maradona in the debate over football's greatest player, said he hoped they would one day 'play together in the sky'.  

Argentina's Lionel Messi - another of the all-time greats often mentioned in the same breath as Maradona - said last night: 'He leaves us, but he is not gone because Diego is eternal.'   

Cristiano Ronaldo, often seen as a rival to Messi in today's equivalent of the Maradona-Pele debate, said that Maradona was 'one of the best ever'. 

'An unrivalled magician. He departs too soon but leaves a legacy with no limits and an emptiness that will never be filled,' Ronaldo said. 

A minute's silence was held before Wednesday night's Champions League games in Europe, while in Naples, where Maradona played in the 1980s, the city mayor called for the local stadium to be renamed. 

'We are already putting it together this morning, taking the first steps to dedicate Naples' stadium to Maradona,' said mayor Luigi De Magistris. 

Fans were already outside the stadium late Wednesday and into Thursday morning waving banners, singing songs and lighting flares, even though gatherings are technically banned in the city because of Covid-19.  

Mourners outside the morgue in Buenos Aires hold up football shirts and pictures of Maradona, with a placard incorporating his number 10 shirt into the word Dios, Spanish for God 

Mourners sing slogans outside La Bombonera, the stadium of Boca Juniors where Maradona used to play 

Soccer fans hold a vigil for Diego Maradona outside the stadium of Argentinos Juniors soccer club, where he started as a professional footballer, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday

People mourn Maradona's death at the Obelisk in Buenos Aires last night after football authorities confirmed his passing 

Thousands of Napoli fans gathered outside the San Paolo Stadium to pay their respects to the player who led them to Champions League glory

1986: Maradona's Hand of God goal - inexplicably missed by the referee - opened the scoring against England in a politically-charged World Cup quarter-final four years after the Falklands War 

Only minutes later, Maradona scored a mesmerising second goal - later named by FIFA as the greatest goal of the century. Argentina won the match 2-1 and went on to win the World Cup 

1994: Maradona's manic screaming celebration after scoring at the World Cup in the United States. He was dismissed soon after the match for testing positive for five variants of the banned stimulant ephedrine 

Maradona has a first dance with his wife Claudia at the Luna Park in Buenos Aires in November 1989. The pair were officially married in 1984 but Maradona wanted to treat his wife to a lavish ceremony after the elder of their two daughters asked to see their wedding photo

Diego Maradona and Claudia Villafane stand in front of the altar during their wedding ceremony at Santisimo Sacramento Church in 1989

The fifth of eight children, Maradona was born in Lanús on October 30, 1960.

He was very close to his parents and siblings, a fact that was demonstrated during a 1990 interview during which he produced stacks of phone bills which showed he had spent $15,000 a month calling his family from Europe. 

By the age of 10, Maradona had joined Los Cebollitas - the youth team of Argentinos Juniors, one of the biggest clubs in Argentina - leading them to an incredible 136-game unbeaten streak.  

'To see him play was pure bliss, true stardom,' teammate Carlos Beltran said. 

Nicknamed El Pibe de Oro, the Golden Boy, he mesmerised fans and players with his mastery of the ball, juggling with both feet and darting across the pitch as he dodged and weaved through the world's best defences. 

'Everything he was thinking in his head, he made it happen with his feet,' said Salvatore Bagni, who played with Maradona in Naples. 

Maradona made his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors aged 15, then moved to Boca Juniors for a year before heading to Barcelona for what was then a world-record fee of £5million.  

In 1984, he moved to Naples where he became a working-class hero, guiding the team to the only two Italian league titles that it has ever won while consorting with the Italian mafia. 

Maradona with his wife Claudia and daughters Dalma and Ganina

Maradona, left, greets Pope Francis in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, ahead of an inter-religious match for peace in September 2014

Soccer legends Diego Maradona (left) and Pele rest on a hammock during a reception in Rio de Janeiro, May 14, 1995.

Maradona with wife Claudia and their daughters Ganina and Dalma in Seville, Spain, in 1992

Argentina's triumph at the 1986 World Cup was his greatest moment of triumph, but it also provided his greatest moment of notoriety - the 'Hand of God' goal against England in the quarter-final. 

In a politically-charged encounter four years after the Falklands War, Maradona used his fist to flick the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton in an act of deception which fooled the referee. 

'It was scored a little bit with the head of Diego and a little with the hand of God,' he later said, coining one of the most memorable phrases in football history.  

Just minutes later, he tore England's defence apart to score a spectacular second goal which was later named by FIFA as the greatest goal of the century.

Argentina won the game 2-1, and seven days later Maradona held the World Cup after leading his team to victory over West Germany in the final at Mexico's Azteca Stadium.  

Four years later, he was back in the final against the same opponents, but this time the Germans won and by now Maradona's career was on the decline - and wouldsoon become overshadowed by drug problems.  

Maradona failed a doping test in 1991 and was banned for 15 months, acknowledging his longtime cocaine addiction. 

In 1994, he failed another test for stimulants and was thrown out of the World Cup in the United States, where his manic scream at the camera after scoring for Argentina was another memorable image of his career. 

People hang a poster of Maradona outside the Boca Juniors stadium in Buenos Aires on Wednesday  

Fans wearing masks hold up a Maradona flag outside the San Paolo stadium in Naples which is set to be renamed in his honour

People light flares as they gather under a mural depicting soccer legend Diego Maradona, in Naples, Italy, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020

Police officers outside Maradona's home on outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday

In 1998, a year after he retired from professional football, Maradona received a suspended prison sentence of two years and 10 months following an incident in which he shot an air rifle at reporters. 

In retirement he frequented Boca matches as a raucous one-man cheering section, but his health problems deteriorated and his weight ballooned. 

In 2000, in what doctors said was a brush with death, he was hospitalized in the Uruguayan resort of Punta del Este with a heart pumping at less than half its capacity. Blood and urine samples turned up traces of cocaine.

After another emergency hospitalization in 2004, Maradona was counseled for drug abuse and in September of that year traveled to Cuba where he was visited by his friend, revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.

In Cuba, Maradona took to playing golf and smoking cigars. He frequently praised the Cuban leader and Che Guevara who fought with Castro in the Cuban revolution. 

In 2005 he had a gastric bypass in Colombia, shedding more than 100lbs before appearing as host of a wildly popular Argentine television talk show which featured Pele, Mike Tyson and Hollywood celebrities.  

But the health issues continued for the rest of his life, including treatment for alcohol abuse in 2007 and a series of more recent operations culminating in the blood clot surgery three weeks ago.  

Maradona at home by his swimming pool in the 1980s (left) and toasting with friends and business associates on a trip to China in 2003

Maradona wears a Union Jack t-shirt as he poses with British rock group Queen backstage in the 1980s

A young Maradona plays on the beach with his brothers in Argentina 

Maradona also became more outspoken in retirement, sniping frequently at former coaches and players and joining a protest alongside late Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez to denounce US president George W. Bush.  

He also had a spell as manager of the Argentina team, but his tactics, selection and attention to detail were all questioned and the team was badly beaten by Germany at the 2010 World Cup. 

In recent years, Maradona, reduced to hobbling by the ravages of his career and lifestyle, had coached in the UAE, Mexico and Argentina without ever hitting the heights of his playing days.  

Victor Hugo Morales, Argentina's most popular soccer broadcaster, said Maradona will ultimately be remembered for a thrilling style of play that has never been duplicated.

'He has been one of the great artists of my time. Like great masters of music and painting, he has defied our intellect and enriched the human spirit,' Morales said. 'Nobody has thrilled me more and left me in such awe as Diego.' 

Maradona left hospital on November 11 just eight days after being admitted for the emergency brain surgery.

The footballer was driven away from the private Olivos Clinic as hundreds of fans of photographers tried to get a glimpse of him as he was discharged to his home. That was where he died on Wednesday.  

Police cars are seen outside the house where Diego Maradona was recovering from surgery, in Tigre, on the outskirt of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday

NOVEMBER 11: An ambulance carrying Maradona leaves the clinic where he underwent brain surgery, in Olivos, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires

Maradona's 'family XI' battle for his millions: Footballer's five known children 'are likely to feud with his six rumoured offspring' for a share of his will

By GERARD COUZENS FOR MAILONLINE

Diego Maradona's death could spark a family feud over his estate as he leaves behind five children he recognised as his and six others he has been linked to.

Before he died one of his daughters joked he could make up a starting eleven with his kids after a 23-year-old Argentinian was named as the latest woman fighting to prove she was his daughter.

Maradona had recognised two sons and three daughters by four different women - including his ex-wife Claudia Villafane and former long-term partner Veronica Ojeda - as his own.

Giannina Maradona, one of the former footballer's two daughters by Villafane, joked last year after the names of three children said to be his in Cuba were made public: 'Just three more needed for the team of 11. You can do it!!!'

In October last year a 23-year-old brunette called Magali Gil emerged as the latest possible member of Maradona's brood.

In October last year a 23-year-old brunette called Magali Gil (pictured) emerged as the latest possible member of Maradona's brood

Popular Argentinian TV programme Intrusos said she had a young daughter which would have made the former Naples and Barcelona star a grandfather if he was confirmed as her father.

She is understood to have launched legal proceedings in April last year to try to prove her blood link.

Journalist Adrian Pallares told Intrusos: 'Her mother didn't raise her but her adoptive family, who gave her all their love.

'The time came when she discovered she didn't belong to that family and that her father could be Diego Armando Maradona.'

In February the she broke her silence in Argentina to confirm the situation had not moved forward and begged the football legend to agree to a DNA test.

She had already confirmed on Italian TV she had been adopted as a youngster and her birth mum contacted her at the start of 2019 to tell her who her real father was.

Magali told Argentinian journalist Tomas Dente, speaking at the start of the year for the first time in her home nation: 'Sadly we still haven't been able to fix a date for the DNA test.

'I'd like to think that the predisposition Diego's lawyer Matias Morla spoke about last December when we met is still there so this can be resolved as quickly as possible and in the best way possible.

'I'm anxious and worried at what's happening because this is something which is key for me, my identity and my past.

'I'm trying to stay calm and understand that we're talking about Diego Maradona who I know has got a packed diary.

'I'd just like to urge him to realise there's a person who's waiting and needs him to be able to resolve my identify and put an end to this search.'

The Magali bombshell first emerged a month after Santiago Lara, who comes from the same Argentinian city of La Plata where Maradona managed Gimnasia y Esgrima, made a renewed TV appeal for the football legend to recognise him as his son.

The Magali bombshell first emerged a month after Santiago Lara (pictured), who comes from the same Argentinian city of La Plata where Maradona managed Gimnasia y Esgrima, made a renewed TV appeal for the football legend to recognise him as his son

The teenager, whose waitress mother Natalia Garat died aged 23 from lung cancer in 2006 and was raised by her ex-boyfriend Marcelo Lara, spoke for the first time in 2016 of his fight to find out who his real father is.

He said at the time: 'I've been told my real father is supposedly Diego Maradona. My dad is always going to be Marcelo Lara but what I've been told is that my real father is supposedly Diego Maradona.

'I think I look like him, the face, the curls, everything. I look at Marcelo and I know we're not alike. It's not easy to wake up in the morning with that feeling.'

'I found out after I went past a newspaper stand near my house aged 13 and saw a magazine front cover with Maradona's face on it and mine pixellated underneath.

'I was left in a state of shock because I didn't know what I was doing in the magazine. I went running home and asked Marcelo what was going on and he explained everything.

'He told me my mum was well-known on the modelling circuit when she was younger and he told me he had the feeling I wasn't his son.

'He told me a DNA test was asked for but was never forthcoming.'

Maradona's lawyer Matias Morla said months before the footballer's death he would assume his responsibilities as Santiago's father if the blood link was confirmed.

Maradona's lawyer Matias Morla (pictured today) said months before the footballer's death he would assume his responsibilities as Santiago's father if the blood link was confirmed

Morla has previously been quoted as saying 'Everyone knows that in Argentina there's Santiago and another person that people are talking about', although other media in the South American country have speculated the 11th child that would make up Diego's football team is a fourth Cuban.

The Cuban trio whose names have already been made public are Joana, Lu and Javielito, born after Maradona moved to the Caribbean island in February 2000 to fight drink and drug addictions.

Mr Morla, who admitted in October 2018 the ex-footballer had been 'naughty' in Cuba and confessed: 'There's going to be a lot of Maradonas, a lot, even if some people don't like it', has confirmed the trio met him during the funeral of Fidel Castro.

Over recent years Maradona had recognised his grown-up son Diego Junior, born from an extra-marital affair with Italian model Cristina Sinagra, and 23-year-old Jana who met her dad for the first time nearly six years ago following a court fight by her mum Valeria Sabalain.

Maradona also had two daughters by his ex-wife, 32-year-old Dalma and 30-year-old Gianinna, and a seven-year-old son called Diego Fernando by former girlfriend Veronica Ojeda.

Several Spanish-language memes went viral after Maradona's lawyer revealed the three Cuban children.

One said: 'If you were born between 1980 and 2019 and you have extraordinary footballing skills, contact us. You could be a son of Diego Maradona.'