Argentine football star, Diego Armando Maradona is dead. This was disclosed by the Premier League via its Twitter handle on Wednesday evening.

It tweeted, “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of footballing great, Diego Maradona, an extraordinarily gifted footballer who transcended the sport.

“Our thoughts and sincere condolences to Diego’s family, friends and those who knew him.”

Maradona, had recently battled health issues and underwent emergency surgery for a subdural haematoma several weeks ago.

Former Argentina attacking midfielder and manager suffered a heart attack at his Buenos Aires home. He had successful surgery on a brain blood clot earlier in November and was to be treated for alcohol dependency.

In a statement on social media, the Argentine Football Association expressed “its deepest sorrow for the death of our legend”, adding: “You will always be in our hearts.”

Declaring three days of national mourning, Alberto Fernandez, the president of Argentina, said: “You took us to the top of the world. You made us immensely happy. You were the greatest of them all.