One certainty about Maradona’s legacy: the battle is getting tough
Deep grief reigns after the death of Diego Maradona, but a bitter battle over his legacy has already started. Who gets what, and how much exactly is his capital? There are no exact answers, but we try to paint as accurate a picture as possible.
Star football player, coach, and billboard for famous brands such as Coca-Cola, Puma, and Louis Vuitton. The football world obviously yielded the Argentinian legend a lot of millions. In contrast, he happily wasted his fortune on luxury cars, women, drugs, and alcohol. He only partially paid off the millions of euros in tax debt that ‘Fluffy’ accrued.
According to some media, Maradona would have been worth about 231 million euros at his death. Others situate him much closer to bankruptcy at 84,000 euros.
As usual, the truth will lie somewhere in the middle. The renowned Spanish newspaper ‘ABC’ maintains a net worth of 63 million euros.
Maradona’s sisters currently live in his luxurious villa in the posh suburb of Buenos Aires. In addition, the Argentinian also has two apartments in the city and a building in Bella Vista, where his last girlfriend Rocio Oliva (30) lives with her family.
Ferrari Testarossa
His collection of luxury cars looks a lot more striking: he put 160,000 euros on the table for the Ferrari Testarossa, as coach of Fujairah FC in Dubai, he got a Rolls-Royce Ghost (about 300,000 euros) and a BMW i8 (145,000 euros) on top.
The honorary president of the Belarusian club Dinamo Brest rewarded him with a ring of 300,000 euros and an Overcomer Hunta (a 4×4 amphibious vehicle for the roughest terrains; ed.). And what about the robust truck with which he occasionally traveled to the training sessions of Boca Juniors? That way, at least the press and fans left him at ease…
Desert
How much Maradona earned during his last assignment as coach of the Argentinian first division Gimnasia is not known. The Mexican passage at second division Dorados de Sinaloa earned him 1.4 million euros in less than ten months.
As a coach of Argentina (2008-2010) he earned about one million a year. Then Diego went into the desert: at Al-Wasl in Saudi Arabia, he reportedly scooped up five million euros in 14 months.
“I will not leave anything behind”
The crucial question now becomes who is officially entitled to his remaining capital. Maradona has officially recognized five children. According to the rumor mill, he would have sired at least eleven. In November 2019, Maradona announced via Instagram that he would disinherit his two daughters Giannina (30) and Dalma (32), and ex-wife Claudia Villafane. “I will not leave anything behind… I will donate everything I have accumulated in my life,” it even sounded.
However, the brain surgery that Maradona had to undergo recently brought the family closer together again. In fact, in the last days, it was mainly his daughters who took care of him.
There is also talk of a will. According to the latest rumors, his ex-wife and the two daughters would have him sign at a time when he already felt bad and did not realize much more. One thing is certain: the last word on the Maradona empire is far from being said.
