Diego Maradona's masseur, Nicolas Taffarel, testified in court on Thursday that the Argentine football legend was bedridden, suffering from edema, and seemed to have accepted his fate in his final days. His testimony was given at the trial of seven medical workers accused of negligence that allegedly contributed to Maradona's death in 2020.
Taffarel recounted: "He refused to leave his bed, didn't want to eat, didn't want to bathe, didn't want to take care of his personal hygiene." He said he had warned the medical team of the 1986 World Cup winner that they should be present more frequently and visit "every day," according to an audio recording played in court.
"I reported the problems I observed in him, but I didn't see any concrete action or urgent solutions," the masseur said, his eyes welling up as he spoke about Maradona.
"He had edema, his legs were badly swollen. The doctors told me to stay calm, that these symptoms would pass. When you're worried, you put your trust in them; you tell yourself everything will be fine. But it didn't pass."
On November 24, a day before Maradona's death, Taffarel said he tried to persuade Maradona to drink some mate (herbal tea) but in vain. "He told me: 'I don't want anything, Taffita, that's it.' I asked again: 'What do you mean, that's it?' and he replied: 'Nothing, that's it'." Maradona's ambiguous reply "ya esta" could be interpreted as "it's okay" or "it's all over."
Maradona died alone in his bed the next day at the age of 60 from heart failure and acute pulmonary edema—a condition of fluid accumulation in the lungs—two weeks after undergoing surgery. The defendants could face up to 25 years in prison but deny all responsibility, most citing their professional expertise and limited roles, which they say were not directly linked to the clinical cause of death.
The trial is expected to possibly extend beyond this month.
