Diego Maradona succumbs to cardiac arrest and dies at the age of 60 at his home in Argentina

FOOTBALLING genius Diego Armando Maradona has passed away at the age of 60 at his home in Argentina after succumbing to a cardiac arrest just two weeks after he underwent surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain.

Regarded by many as the best footballer to have ever lived, Maradona helped Argentina win the World Cup in 1986 with some of the best displays ever seen on the green grass. He played club football for Boca Juniors in Argentina, Barcelona in Spain and Napoli in Italy among others and was adored by millions all over the world for his brilliant skills.

Argentine news outlet Clarin broke the news today, describing Maradona's passing as having a worldwide impact. This news was confirmed by Maradona's lawyer and almost immediately, tributes were pouring in from all over the world.

Maradona left hospital on November 11 just eight days after being admitted for emergency brain surgery. He was driven away from the private Olivos Clinic just before 6pm on November 11 as hundreds of fans of photographers tried to get a glimpse of him.

He had been hospitalised the previous week and had to have an emergency operation to remove a blood clot from his brain. Argentine TV reporters travelling on motorbikes filmed the ambulance carrying him leaving before following the vehicle to transmit every inch of his journey.

At the time, Matias Morlahas Maradona's lawyer, said his client would continue to receive treatment for alcohol dependency. Maradona almost died of cocaine-induced heart failure in 2000 and underwent years of rehabilitation.

Once the most popular footballer on earth, Maradona, who was well known for having a wild lifestyle during and after his playing days, had a gastric bypass operation to lose weight in 2005 and was once more hospitalised two years later for alcohol-induced hepatitis. He also fell ill at the last World Cup in Russia, where he was filmed passing out in an executive box when Argentina took on and beat Nigeria in Group D.