It’s been a whirlwind 48 hours for Diego Maradona. The World Cup winner admitted to bingeing on white wine before and during Argentina’s dramatic win over Nigeria, before being taken ill after the match.
But then, it’s been a whirlwind 57 years for the Argentine icon. He was destined to bring controversy and tragicomedy to Russia, but that didn’t stop FIFA paying him £10,000 a day to attend the tournament.
That’s without even taking travel, accommodation and expenses into account – but why the huge pay-out?
Well, it’s all part of new-ish FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s legends concept, in which he has sprinkled World Cup icons across Russian stadiums to remind younger viewers of the tournament’s storied history.
And that comes at a price – even though the Argentine would likely have made it to the competition, anyway. Maradona’s fee is considerably higher than other former internationals on the scheme, including Ronaldo, Carlos Puyol, Xavi and Samuel Eto.
But in fairness to the bloke, he's paid his way in memes:
