In a high-profile courtroom proceeding in San Isidro, Argentina, a key witness and defendant — Diego Maradona’s personal psychologist Carlos Diaz — has revealed three previously undisclosed long-term mental health conditions affecting the late Argentine football icon, offering new context for the defense argument in the negligence trial over the 2020 death of the global sports legend. Diaz, who stands among seven medical professionals accused of negligent homicide in Maradona’s death, told the court this Thursday that the celebrated athlete lived with three chronic, lifelong conditions: substance addiction, bipolar disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder. While Maradona’s well-documented struggles with cocaine and alcohol addiction have been public knowledge for decades, the formal dual diagnoses of bipolar disorder and narcissistic personality disorder had never been shared with the public prior to this court testimony.
As a core member of the defense team, Diaz’s disclosures are framed to support the broader legal argument that Maradona was an especially challenging patient to treat, and that his death in 2020 at age 60 was ultimately a result of natural causes, not inadequate medical care. Diaz told the court that close associates of Maradona confided in him that the footballer’s substance use was intrinsically linked to his extraordinary career in professional football: when he encountered setbacks or frustration on or off the pitch, he lacked healthy coping mechanisms to manage his emotions, turning to alcohol and drugs as a crutch. Diaz also shared a personal anecdote of his first meeting with Maradona in October 2020, just one month before the star’s death: he recalled finding Maradona seated in an armchair drinking wine, a sight that stirred personal memory of his own father, an alcoholic who had passed away just months prior to that meeting. Despite the clear struggles, Diaz added that he believed Maradona had a genuine, sincere desire to adjust his behavior and commit to recovery at that time.
Widely regarded as one of the most talented and influential football players in the history of the sport, Maradona died in November 2020, just two weeks after undergoing a routine surgical procedure to remove a blood clot in his brain, while he was recovering in his private home. An official autopsy confirmed the cause of death as heart failure combined with acute pulmonary edema, a dangerous condition that causes excess fluid to build up in the lungs. The seven defendants on trial — which include a lead neurosurgeon, a psychiatrist, a nurse, and other medical members of Maradona’s care team — face steep prison sentences ranging from 8 to 25 years if convicted of intentional homicide, a charge that alleges they continued with their planned care plan despite knowing it put Maradona’s life at severe risk. All seven accused have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that the 1986 FIFA World Cup champion died of pre-existing natural causes unrelated to the medical care he received in his final days.
This current proceeding is actually the second trial held over Maradona’s death. The first trial was annulled entirely last year, after investigators uncovered that one of the presiding judges had secretly participated in filming an unauthorized clandestine documentary about the high-profile case, creating an unacceptable conflict of interest. The retrial, overseen by a completely new panel of independent judges, formally kicked off earlier this month, and is expected to draw global attention from football fans and legal observers alike as new details of Maradona’s final days emerge.