Matías Morla, Maradona lawyer, says late star's medical treatment was 'very bad'

Diego Maradona's former lawyer said Monday the medical treatment given to his client was "very bad," after giving testimony in the investigation into the death of the Argentine football star.

"There were many mistakes made because Diego died, they inflated and inflated the poor guy until his heart exploded," Matías Morla told reporters after his more than three hours of testimony at the prosecutor's office in San Isidro.

Authorities in the northern suburb of Buenos Aires are investigating the circumstances of Maradona's death, which occurred at a rented home in nearby Tigre.

The medical treatment Maradona received was "very bad, that's why he died," Morla said.

National icon Maradona died of a heart attack on November 25 aged just 60 while recovering from an operation at a clinic in Olivos to remove a blood clot from his head. 

He also suffered from kidney and liver problems, heart failure, neurological deterioration and alcohol and drug addictions.

The late football great had been recovering in a private residence under the supervision of a seven-person medical team, among them neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque.

The team members have already testified in the investigation to determine whether there was any neglect or malpractice in Maradona's care.

Prosecutors are exploring the possibility that the ex-Boca Juniors star received "insufficient" care from the medical team. 

Morla said that during his last visit with Maradona on November 16, "he had a strange voice, robotic, very high-pitched and intermittent." He said the symptoms were obvious to everyone.

"I informed everyone of Diego's condition," Morla said. "I then realised it was because of the amount of water retained in his body."

The lawyer denounced as "crazy" the family's decision to have Maradona recover outside of a hospital.

Maradona "had no reason to go to a house when the doctors said he had to stay in a clinic," Morla said, adding he believed his client had been "abandoned by his daughters."

"But one thing is moral responsibility and another is legal responsibility."

Maradona's two older daughters, Dalma and Gianinna, were accused in August of harassing Morla online. Both sides have also clashed over the right to commercially exploit the footballer's brand and name.

– TIMES/AFP