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Maradona - World's Most Famous Addict

The title of ‘World’s Most Famous Addict’ is about as dubious an honour as WWF wrestling champion. But with all due respect to Amy Winehouse, John Daly and of course Pete Doherty, Diego Maradona is streets ahead of the competition.

For starters he is one of a very rare breed of people to have actually achieved greatness despite suffering years of addiction. At the 1986 World Cup he won the tournament on his own (with a little help from the Hand of God) and ensured his renown the world over.

“I lost a lot of my footballing talent to drugs. If I had never touched cocaine I would have been three times as good a player,” he told the Sun newspaper recently. “There would be no debate about who was the best footballer the world had ever seen — me or Pele. Everyone would say me.”

That he is mentioned in the same breath as people like Pele is testament to his genius, especially when his idea of a quiet night in would probably leave even Keith Richards sweating.

But at 47, Maradona is not the man he was. He has suffered many serious health problems in recent years, and almost died following a heart attack in 2004. A year later he had gastric bypass surgery to help control his notoriously fluctuating weight, and though he has since looked noticeably thinner, he spent part of 2007 in a clinic seeking treatment for alcohol addiction.

But God’s right-hand man has said that his days of binging on just about everything coming are behind him. He claims that he has not touched drugs for three years, and that his daughter has helped him to reform.

“When I was at my worst, I would take coke with whisky constantly for three days, sleep for one day, then take coke again constantly for three days, and play a game on Sunday,” he said. “You can have no real relationships with your family if you use cocaine — you need it all the time.”

“My older daughter Dalma spent her childhood knowing her father was a drug addict,” he added. “It was her eyes that helped me - that is why I am still here today.”