DIEGO MARADONA can be heard slurring his words and admitting ‘I’m bruised’ in a saddening last video of the Argentina icon taken days before he died.
The former Napoli and Barcelona star, his head still bandaged after his brain operation, appeared to struggle to find his words at times as he sent a message to his doctor from the rented home where he died.
Argentine TV footage revealed one of Diego Maradona’s final moments
In the clip, he said: “I’m bruised but okay.
“You know I don’t like intimacies but when I’m with good people I come out of my shell.”
Showing he still had a sense of humour despite his obvious discomfort, he signed off by joking his message was meant for a retired Argentine footballer whose name is almost identical to that of his controversial medic, Leopoldo Luque.
Speaking as he tucked into a bowl of soup alongside former partner Veronica Ojeda, who was filming the video, he said ‘A kiss Luque, Leopoldo Jacinto Luque’ to laughter from his ex sat beside him.
His cook, Romina Milagros Rodriguez, who revealed at the weekend she was asked to give Maradona mouth-to-mouth after he suffered cardiac arrest, could be seen in the background.
The astonishing clip, published by Cronica TV, has been described in Argentina as the last footage of Diego before his November 25 death from heart failure.
A neighbour had previously filmed him turning and waving to her daughter as he shuffled along the street in another home-made video that emerged shortly after his death.
The clip’s release comes after it emerged that Maradona told his nephew before his death: “I lived till I reached my sixties. That’s enough. I don’t want anymore.”
Maradona passed away last year, weeks after a brain operationCredit: AFP
The former footballer led Argentina to the 1986 World CupCredit: AP:Associated Press
Johnny Esposito, who had dinner with the superstar hours before he died, made the shocking revelation.
He admitted: “If I’d known it was going to be his last night I’d have climbed into bed with him and stayed there.”
Esposito, part of Maradona’s trusted inner circle, added: “I remember saying good night to him and him going to his bedroom.
“He was okay that day but what was happening was that he didn’t want to live anymore.
“He wouldn’t let people help him. I don’t know why he didn’t fight like he always fought.
“I think it could have been because he couldn’t kick a football anymore.”
I don’t know if he felt he was going to die but he would say to me, ‘I’ve reached the age of sixty and that’s enough’.
Johnny Esposito
Maradona’s nephew opened up on the legend’s last hours in an interview with Argentine TV channel KZO.
His former agent, Guillermo Coppola, claimed over the weekend Diego ‘gave up’ on life.
He described his shock at how bad the late footballer looked at a 60th birthday tribute before his admission to hospital at the start of last November.
Recalling the last day he shared with his uncle, Johnny said: “We watched a lot of TV, a lot of football, the things we did everyday, and we shared an infusion.
“I felt he didn’t want anything else, he didn’t even want to go out for a walk in the garden.
“I don’t know if he felt he was going to die but he would say to me, ‘I’ve reached the age of sixty and that’s enough’.
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Last year, Maradona was named in the Ballon d’Or all-time best XI
“His last night we ate fried beef steaks and salad and the nurse checked up on him about 11pm. That was the last time I saw him.
“About 11am the following morning the doctors arrived and he didn’t react.
“It was devastating. Millions of thoughts raced through my mind.
“One of them was that I never wanted that moment to arrive. But I don’t think he suffered.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
