Argentina secured their advancement to the Round of 16 of the World Cup in dramatic fashion after Marcos Rojo’s late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Nigeria.
The South American side finished second in Group D and will now face France in the Round of 16 clash on Saturday. And no one was more happy to see the La Albiceleste progress to the knockout stages than Diego Maradona.
Maradona was seen doing dramatic celebrations which even went to the extent of the former World Cup winner showing the middle fingers after Rojo’s goal.
Diego Maradona & the middle finger to the winning goal of #ARG at the 2018 World Cup#WM2018 #NGAARG #DiegoMaradona #NGA #Messi pic.twitter.com/aDZcKAEIx3
— ✌ IIVMCMXC ✌ (@IIVMCMXC) June 26, 2018
But as the match ended and the Argentine players were clad with joy, Diego Maradona suffered a very different outcome.
Immediately after the final whistle, images started coming out where Maradona was seen being helped out of VIP box having difficulty walking on his own.
Diego Maradona has to be helped out of his seat and into stadium box after Argentina win over Nigeria https://t.co/Y9Hakpo2eX pic.twitter.com/u1nSxvDltN
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) June 26, 2018
The came another image which showed Maradona being treated by the paramedics and finally one more report which suggested that the footballing legend had to be taken to the hospital.
Diego Maradona treated by medical staff in stadium after Argentina's win against Nigeria https://t.co/LkLmyT7ZHf #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/CdrMuqv6fT
— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) June 26, 2018
Now as everyone was concerned over the well being of the Argentine great one man claimed that Diego Maradona had passed away due to a heart attack.
Two Spanish-language recordings had gone viral which claimed that an adrenaline to the heart had failed to save him but the news of his death was still to be made public.
These recordings spread like wildfire and major tabloids started picking it up. And the situation got so out of control that Diego Maradona had to release a statement to prove that he was alive.
Maradona later went on to claim that his antics during the Nigeria vs Argentina game was due to excessive consumption of white wine but he is certainly not happy with the man who spread his death rumour.
And in an act of desperation, Diego Maradona has put a sort of bounty on the man.
The former World Cup winner has offered a reward of 300,000 Argentinian pesos to anyone who can reveal the identity of the man behind the fake recordings.
In an interview on Telesur’s ‘De La Mano del 10’ programme, Maradona said: ‘It makes me a bit angry, because my sister, yesterday she made me whistle on the phone to see if I was okay, and I went (whistles).
‘My brother in Italy, my nephew in the United States were worried because of course, the bad news travels much faster than the good news.
‘I am very much alive, and very well taken care of.’
