Diego Maradona's best friend adamant Argentine icon would still be alive with better treatment

A bitter ineligible conflict implicit Diego Maradona is coming to a caput astir 4 years aft the shot fable died aged 60.

The Argentinian forward, 1 of the top players successful the game’s history, had long-documented problems with drugs and intoxicant dependency.

His decease sparked mourning crossed the world and successful peculiar successful his location country, wherever hundreds of thousands of fans took to the streets. Now grief has turned to anger. Eight members of Maradona’s aesculapian squad person been charged with homicide.

And successful an exclusive interrogation with the Mirror, the shot icon’s champion person Mariano Israelit has claimed helium would inactive beryllium live contiguous had helium received the attraction needed.

“The past happening Diego told maine was: ‘Don’t permission maine alone, don’t permission me’,” the 57-year-old grounds shaper says.

“I saw with my ain eyes the attraction helium was being given. It was conscionable incorrect connected truthful galore levels.”

At the bosom of the explosive lawsuit – present postponed to March – is the accusation that Maradona’s death, from a bosom attack, was preventable. The accused see doctors and respective nurses. If recovered guilty, they could look up to 25 years successful prison.

The ineligible tempest surrounding Maradona’s decease is not conscionable astir aesculapian negligence. It is astir the handling of a nationalist treasure. For Argentina, the World Cup leader was much than conscionable a footballer – helium was a awesome of nationalist pride, a god-like fig who embodied the hopes and dreams of millions.

Only a fistful person ever played the crippled arsenic good arsenic helium did connected his mode to lifting the 1986 World Cup; less inactive could lucifer Maradona’s spirit. Both sides of him were embodied by his 2 quarter-final goals against England.

The archetypal was a cheat, the notorious Hand of God goal, erstwhile the 5ft 5in guardant outjumped 6ft goalkeeper Peter Shilton and knocked the shot into the nett with his arm.

But the 2nd was the morganatic Goal of the Century – Maradona danced astir the England defence with the shot seemingly glued to his feet.

Mariano, who became adjacent to Maradona successful 1982 aft going to schoolhouse with his younger member Hugo, paints a representation of a fable who was chopped disconnected from a satellite that revered him.

“If they had taken a small much attraction of him, helium would inactive beryllium present today,” says Mariano, writer of El Amigo De Dios (The Friend of God).

“I americium definite of that. I saw everything that was going on.”

Mariano, who spent much than 9 hours testifying for the investigation, claims helium saw however the aesculapian squad assigned to Maradona acting suspiciously erstwhile helium visited his friend.

“The aesculapian unit were unusual due to the fact that helium had his ain backstage medicine, but astatine the aforesaid time, the radical who worked with him hired different doctors from elsewhere.” Mariano is besides convinced that idiosyncratic has stolen Maradona’s millions.

After a playing vocation astatine clubs including Boca Juniors, Barcelona and Napoli, helium managed the Argentina nationalist squad arsenic good arsenic sides successful his location country, Mexico and the UAE.

“The wealth is inactive missing,” adds Mariano. “It is much than $90million [£70 million]. I don’t cognize who has it but erstwhile helium returned from Mexico, helium invited maine to his house.

“He told me: ‘You don’t cognize however good I did successful Dubai and Mexico. I made much than $100m.’

“Today according to his manager’s lawyer, lone $10m is left.

“Where is the missing $90m? It makes it worse erstwhile you realise that they were biting the manus that fed them.” Lead authoritative Patricio Ferrari argues that the aesculapian squad ignored Maradona’s important wellness issues and abandoned him to his fate.

“We are not saying the doctors wanted to termination Maradona,” Ferrari explained. “Rather, they knew it could happen, and they didn’t bash anything.”

All the defendants support their innocence. “Diego was a messed-up patient,” lawyer Julio Rivas said.

Prosecutors reason that his attraction successful the last weeks of his beingness was inadequate, deficient and reckless. Maradona had been surviving successful the gated assemblage of Tigre, extracurricular Buenos Aires, earlier his decease connected November 25, 2020.

Text messages exchanged betwixt the aesculapian squad successful the days starring up to his decease uncover their consciousness of his worsening condition. One chilling connection from Cosachov stated: “A weaponry is coming for us,” arsenic if anticipating the ineligible fallout.

In a preliminary hearing, 1 of Maradona’s nurses has appeared charged with elemental homicide with eventual intent, implying she knowingly failed to enactment erstwhile Maradona was deteriorating. She denies the complaint and told prosecutors she was pursuing orders to bash everything the diligent wanted.

“We did not person to fuss him, we did not person to participate the room, we lone had to springiness him the medication,” she explained. “If I went in, [Maradona] told maine not to.”

As good arsenic the pending tribunal case, determination are ongoing battles implicit Maradona’s property and representation rights – and adjacent his last resting place. His household has requested that his assemblage beryllium moved to a much unafraid mausoleum.

“They’re not letting that assemblage remainder successful peace,” said sports writer Fernando Czyz. “And they ne'er will.”

Many successful Argentina judge the star’s decease was inevitable. Maradona had lived his beingness connected the borderline for decades. But fans privation answers, and they privation idiosyncratic to wage the terms for the nonaccomplishment of their hero.

Asked whether justness volition prevail, Mariano is pessimistic. “Nobody volition spell to jail,” helium says. “The wealth volition ne'er beryllium found.”