Maradona filmed partying with cigar, pills before operation

A bloated-looking Diego Maradona partied with a Havana cigar in his hand in a video Argentinian media are claiming was filmed just days before his brain blood clot operation.

The soccer legend sat at a table in front of a half-full glass of beer and a bottle of pills as he sang out of chorus with a friend.

The friend has been identified locally as a doctor called Mariano Castro, one of Diego’s closest confidants from his days in Cuba where the former footballer sought treatment for his cocaine addiction.

The footage has been flagged up as an example of the potential new battle Maradona was facing – his addiction to alcohol and pills.

Maradona died on November 25 at a rented home on an upmarket residential estate north of Buenos Aires.

The events leading up to his death are the focus of an ongoing state prosecution probe sparked by concerns Maradona may have been the victim of medical negligence and sub-standard home care conditions.

It was not immediately clear where the footage of party-loving Diego, who let his friend put his arm round him during an eye-catching performance which seemed to be more about shouting than singing, had been taken and when.

The footage was first broadcast on an Argentinian TV show called Confrontados on the South American country’s Canal 9 channel.

He was admitted to hospital three days after having to abandon the Gimnasia y Esgrima stadium early for a check-up before being transferred to a new clinic for his op when medics detected his brain bleed.

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The last footage taken of him, on the private estate where he rented shortly before his death, also showed him looking very frail as he walked with the support of two men by his side.