Diego Maradona was bedridden, bloated and appeared resigned to his fate in the days before his death, his masseur Nicolas Taffarel testified on Thursday at a negligence trial for seven healthcare professionals in San Isidro, Argentina.
Taffarel told the court that Maradona refused to eat, wash or leave his bed in his final days, suffering from worsening oedema in his legs. He said he warned the medical team they needed to visit every day and shared his concerns directly with Leopoldo Luque, one of the defendants. On November 24, 2020 — the day before Maradona died — Taffarel tried in vain to persuade the football legend to drink mate. Nurse Ricardo Almiron testified that Maradona had shown mild tachycardia the day before his death.
Maradona died alone on November 25, 2020, at age 60, of heart failure complicated by acute pulmonary oedema. The defendants face up to 25 years in prison on charges of simple homicide with eventual intent. The current trial, the second after the first was nullified over procedural irregularities, began on April 14.