HE will for ever be remembered as the footie genius whose outrageous Hand of God con trick knocked England out of the 1986 World Cup.
But Diego Maradona was an even bigger cheat off the pitch, siring at least six alleged love children with a string of glamorous women.
Maradona with ex-wife Claudia and daughters Dalma and Giannina in 2008Credit: Getty Images – Getty
With the kids he is known to have had it makes enough for a football team. And the entire brood is now locked in a Hand of Wad battle for his secret £37million fortune after he died of a heart attack at 60 last month — without leaving a will.
Five acknowledged children, six or seven more who claim to be Maradona’s, plus four of his five sisters and at least three ex-lovers are all battling for a cut.
Because despite his chaotic drink and drug-fuelled life, Maradona amassed fortunes in Switzerland, Dubai and Buenos Aires, plus property across the globe.
The World Cup of will contests took a new twist yesterday as a valuable secret stash of memorabilia was unearthed, including a Harry Kane shirt and a 3.5-tonne amphibious vehicle.
Legal teams representing family members are expected to battle for months, if not years, after Maradona scrapped a will he signed in 2012.
Argentine law bans his children from being disinherited and requires all to be given equal shares, allowing only a fifth of an estate to be redistributed.
But that infuriated his eldest daughters Dalma, 33, and 31-year-old Giannina by his ex-wife Claudia, who were once chief beneficiaries but now face far smaller shares.
And since Maradona died, actress Dalma has turned her fire on his lawyer Matias Morla, who is said to have urged him to scrap his will.
Maradona had his eldest child Diego with Italian beauty Cristiana SinagraCredit: Rex Features
Jana had another daughter, Jana, 25, with girlfriend Valeria Sabalain in Buenos Aires in the 1990s
Jana works as an underwear modelCredit: Instagram @eufloriaok
Dalma accused Morla of screening more than 200 of her calls she made pleading for details of her father’s assets in recent days.
In one exchange she wrote on Instagram: “Pick up on the phone . . . I’ll never stop. Hopefully justice will be done, and I swear to you that I won’t stop until that happens. But if not, your condemnation will be social . . . you show up, coward.
“If you say you are such a friend, stop exposing him, filthy rat.”
Mum-of-one Giannina — ex-wife of Argentina and Manchester City ace Sergio Aguero — is also demanding a bigger share.
But the pair were not always close, with Maradona publicly calling for Giannina to be jailed three years ago, claiming his daughters and ex-wife stole £3.4million from him.
As recently as June this year there were more clashes as the sisters said they were prepared to “go to court” to stop their father drinking himself to death.
Dalma and Giannina were the first of five children recognised by the former Barcelona star.
But he later acknowledged his eldest child, footballer Diego Sinagra, 34, born during a fling with Italian beauty Cristiana Sinagra when he played for Napoli in the 1980s.
He had another daughter, Jana, 25, with girlfriend Valeria Sabalain in Buenos Aires in the 1990s.
And Verónica Ojeda, who was Maradona’s partner for almost a decade, has another little Diego, now seven, by the footballer.
Maradona won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986 and became notorious for his ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in the quarter finalCredit: Rex Features
Maradona also had another son called Diego, now seven, with his partner Veronica OjedaCredit: instagram.com/maradona
Paternity claims that have not been accepted include one by 19-year-old Argentinian Santiago Lara, whose lawyer demanded that Maradona’s body be dug up for DNA tests less than a day after he was buried.
The teenager, who claims he is Maradona’s sixth child, first launched his paternity battle four years ago.
His mum, waitress Natalia Garat, died aged 23 from lung cancer in 2006 after an alleged seven-year on-off fling with Maradona.
Another woman claiming paternity is Italian mum-of-one Magali Gil, who was given up for adoption then reunited with her biological mother, who she says told her tearfully that she was the result of a 1995 fling with the soccer star.
She said earlier this year, after filing a lawsuit and demanding a DNA test: “Diego did not know about me. My mother never told him she was pregnant.”
Legal sources suggest the icon was also about to accept he was the father of three children born while he was detoxing in Cuba between 2000 and 2005.
Mum Adonay Fruto claims twins Joana and Lu were Maradona’s, and two more Cuban children named only as Javielito and Harold have also had claims staked.
Court papers lodged in Buenos Aires suggested a 12th child had also been named, with possibly more to follow, sources said. Four of Maradona’s five sisters are also understood to have demanded a cut.
Paternity claims that have not been accepted include one by 19-year-old Argentinian Santiago Lara
Another woman claiming paternity is Italian mum-of-one Magali Gil, who was given up for adoption then reunited with her biological mother,Credit: Intrusos
Maradona’s myriad accounts across the globe show wealth amassed from ad deals with big brands including Puma, Coca-Cola, Hublot watches and Konami video games.
Other valuables include jewellery and property and investments in countries where he played and coached, including Argentina, Spain, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Belarus and Mexico.
Maradona died a shadow of his swaggering old self in a £12,000-a-month house rented by his daughter Jana on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.
He left hospital on November 11 following surgery for a blood clot on the brain. He died two weeks later.
Yesterday sources said his complex estate is likely to be divided into as many as 12 parts by an “administrator” appointed by an Argentinian judge.
A source told The Sun: “With no will, children close to Maradona, and some he has never met, will all be able to claim an equal share of his fortune. That is clearly unacceptable to children who were part of his life for years and feel they’ve been cheated.”
Heartbreaking moment Maradona’s daughter Dalma breaks down in tears after touching Boca Juniors tribute
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