Diego Maradona’s former medical doctor Leopoldo Luque testified in a new trial over the soccer legend’s death, stating he was not responsible for Maradona’s health.
“I was not the owner of his health,” Luque said during his testimony, according to reports from Argentine news outlets covering the proceedings in Buenos Aires.
The retrial began this week after the original case collapsed in May 2025 when one of the three judges stepped down following criticism over her appearance in a documentary trailer. Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari had accused Judge Makintach of behaving “like an actress and not a judge,” leading to the mistrial after more than 100 witnesses had testified.
Seven healthcare professionals from Maradona’s medical team are now charged with negligent homicide in connection with his death from heart failure on November 25, 2020. Maradona, who was 60 at the time of his death, had undergone successful brain clot surgery earlier that month and was receiving home care in Buenos Aires province.
The defendants include neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a medical coordinator, a nursing coordinator, a doctor, and a night nurse. Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari stated during the proceedings that “all the defendants abandoned Diego Armando Maradona to his fate, condemning him to death.”
Ferrari also commented on Luque’s testimony, saying it “was more of the same,” suggesting the doctor’s statements did not provide new information to the case.
The trial has drawn significant attention in Argentina and internationally, with media outlets reporting on emotional testimony from witnesses including the first police officer who arrived at Maradona’s home the day he died, who said he “saw him swollen.”
reports indicate that Maradona’s daughter had to cover her eyes during the proceedings when video of the soccer star’s corpse was exhibited as evidence.
The case continues to unfold as prosecutors seek to determine whether medical negligence contributed to the death of one of soccer’s most iconic figures, who led Argentina to World Cup victory in 1986.
