Diego Maradona’s sad spiral in final tragic years

A seemingly harmless photo of football legend Diego Maradona sparked troubling rumours surrounding his tragic health spiral.

Diego Maradona at the 2018 World Cup.

A photo of Diego Maradona at the 2018 World Cup in Russia has come to define the sad final years of the football legend’s life.

The images of the Argentinian national hero in a private box with an apparent smothering of a white powder substance smeared across the glass is quickly emerging as the most heartbreaking image of his health spiral.

The immortal shots of a fired up Maradona cheering wildly as his own country defeated Nigeria with a late winner at the FIFA showpiece came just minutes before his scary collapsein the stands.

He insisted at the time his collapse was the result of him drinking too much wine.

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Diego Maradona was a man of the people.

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The unproven rumours that the white powder suggested a return to drug-use came just 12 months after the World Cup icon proudly claimed he hadn’t used hard drugs in 14 years.

He continued to abuse alcohol during this period.

Just one week later, another video, taken on a private jet, also circulated on social media, appeared to show Maradona drinking a shot, sitting next to a bag of suspicious white powder.

Diego Maradona had to be carried out of the Saint Petersburg Stadium this evening#WorldCup pic.twitter.com/F8PmEg7xOw

— Indy Football (@IndyFootball) June 26, 2018

Before his collapse in Russia, Maradona was caught on TV lunging forwards from his executive box seat and giving opposing fans below “the finger” with both hands.

But moments after his nation’s thrilling 2-1 win over Nigeria, he was seen hunched over and had to be held up by a pal as he was led to the executive suite area.

Anxious medical staff at St Petersburg’s 64,000-seat Zenit Arena were seen checking his pulse and attempting to calm him soon after.

A screenshot of a viral video of Diego Maradona on a private flight with a white powder in 2018. Photo: Twitter.

He was taken to hospital in the city for precautionary checks.

A preliminary diagnosis later confirmed he had high blood pressure and a heart murmur.

It was a perfect symbol of the wild rollercoaster that was Maradona’s life.

Undeniably dramatic. Terribly tragic. Scary. Unforgettable for so many reasons.

It was just the tip of the iceberg of his turbulent personal life and gradual health decline in his latter years.

He died two weeks after undergoing surgery for a brain bleed, suffering a heart attack on Thursday (AEST).

But he had long suffered with his health and made several trips to hospital since turning 60 on October 30, The Sun reports.

Diego Maradona is seen in the stands during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Maradona spent eight days on a ward after he was admitted for an emergency operation for a blood clot on his brain.

His lawyer Matias Morla described it as a “miracle” he was still alive just two weeks ago and labelled the surgery as the ‘most difficult moment of his life’.

Last November, the “Hand of God” superstar was forced to deny he was dying in an extraordinary video address to fans.

The message came after his daughter Gianinna asked fans to “pray for him” and hinted he was being ‘killed from the inside’ with sedatives.

But in a video filmed from his home in Argentina, Maradona said: “I want to tell you that I’m not dying at all, that I sleep peacefully because I’m working.”

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“What I do know is that as you get older, people worry more about what you’re going to leave than what you’re doing.”

The former Boca Juniors and Napoli forward had well documented battles with drugs and alcohol during his life.

He also weighed in at more than 130kg after he retired from playing and all these issues appeared to catch up with him.

Despite his numerous and well documented troubles away from the football pitch, the Argentine will always be remembered as one of the most talented geniuses ever to play the game.