Diego Maradona might have been paid $80 000 for an exclusive interview that he gave a well-known Argentine television host about the footballer’s brush with death, the press reported on Monday.
The interview with Susana Gimenez aired on Friday night.
According to Clarin daily newspaper, the ailing football player, who spent 12 days in intensive care after suffering a cardiac and pulmonary crisis, also received two watches and a golf car for agreeing to talk to Gimenez, a popular talk-show host known to have the ear of important figures in Argentina.
Maradona (43) checked out of a clinic last week under his own responsibility and that of his personal physician Alfredo Cahe. His decision to leave the hospital against doctor’s orders stunned his fans and sparked a controversy given the severity of his condition only a few days earlier.
In the interview at a friend’s hacienda west of Buenos Aires where Maradona is staying, the footballer, who lost 5kg during his ordeal, but is still overweight, had difficulties speaking but was in a good mood.
He said he had ”seen death” during his hospital stay in which he was on a respirator for seven days.
Maradona told Gimenez that he plans to return to Cuba, where he has been for the past four years on drug treatment.
In 2000 Maradona nearly died of a cocaine overdose while in Uruguay. In this latest crisis the press reported that significant traces of cocaine were found in his urine, but those reports have not been publicly confirmed by his doctors.
On Sunday, Maradona drove around the hacienda on a golf cart and thanked journalists for showing up.
Maradona’s father was hospitalised for respiratory problems on Friday, and reportedly worry about his son’s condition contributed to his own situation. — Sapa-DPA