"I feel sick," these were soccer legend Diego Maradona's last words before he passed away on Wednesday.
Maradona passed away at the age of 60 after suffering a cardiac arrest. He had a heart attack at his home just two weeks after leaving the hospital where he underwent brain surgery.
Shortly before the announcement that shocked the world, Argentine media reported Maradona had suffered a serious health setback on Wednesday and was being treated by doctors at his home north of Buenos Aires.
The Daily Mail reports that on Wednesday morning, Maradona had come down for breakfast at his home looking pale. He had also complained about feeling cold. Shortly after, he told his nephew Johnny Esposito, 'Me siento mal,' before going back to bed. It was reportedly a nurse who discovered Maradona and called for help. But he passed away before the paramedics could arrive.
Emergency services did try to revive him when they reached the rented property in San Andres north of Buenos Aires where Maradona had been staying after his release from the hospital post sugery. But they had been unsuccessful, reports the Mirror.
The last hours of the Argentine footballer's life were broadcast on national media as he underwent an autopsy to determine the cause of death. According to reports, Maradona's wake will be held at Casa Rosada, the Argentine counterpart of the White House.
President Alberto Fernandez immediately announced three days of national mourning in the South American country.
Maradona had gone into drug rehab on several occasions. When he quit cocaine, he binged instead on drink, cigars and food and ended up in hospital in 2007. Years of drug use, overeating and alcoholism truncated a stellar career and altered his appearance from a lithe athlete who could slalom effortlessly through teams to an addict who nearly died of cocaine-induced heart failure in 2000.