Maradona bloated, bedridden and resigned before death, court hears

A man walks next to a mural depicting Argentina’s late football legend Diego Maradona, outside of the field “El Potrero de D10S” in Villa Fiorito, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, on June 13, 2026, where Maradona took his first steps playing soccer at his childhood club, Estrella Roja, near his childhood home. Picture: Luis Robayo / AFP Diego Maradona was bedridden, suffering from edema, and appeared resigned to his fate in his final days, according to the testimony of the Argentine football legend’s masseur at the trial into the circumstances of his death in 2020. Maradona “wouldn’t get out of bed, he didn’t want to eat, he didn’t want to wash, he didn’t want to look after his personal hygiene”, Nicolas Taffarel testified on Thursday.

He claimed that at the time he had alerted the1986 World Cup winner‘s medical team that they should be more present and visit “every day”, as heard in an audio message played in court. Seven healthcare professionals have been on trial since mid-April in Argentina for potential negligence that may have contributed to the football icon’s death. “I reported the issues I observed with him, but I saw no concrete action or swift resolution,” added the masseur, on the verge of tears as he spoke ofMaradona.

“He was bloated, his legs were swollen…,” Taffarel recounted. “The doctors told me to calm down, that these symptoms would pass. When you’re anxious, you put your trust in them; you tell yourself it will pass, that everything will sort itself out.

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But it didn’t pass.” On November 24, the day before Maradona’s death, Taffarel told how he tried in vain to persuade him to come round and drink mate. “He said to me: ‘I don’t want anything, Taffita, that’s it.’ I asked him: ‘What do you mean, that’s it?’ and he replied: ‘Nothing, that’s it’,” he said, quoting Maradona’s ambiguous words — “ya esta” can be understood as “it’s all right” or “it’s over”. Maradona died alone in bed the following day at the age of 60 of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema — a condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs — two weeks afterundergoing surgery. The defendants, who face up to 25 years in prison, deny any responsibility.

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