Maradona was "bipolar" with "narcissistic personality disorder," testifies a psychologist on trial for his death.

Diego Maradona, in addition to his addictions, suffered from "bipolar disorder" and "narcissistic personality disorder," a psychologist, a member of the medical team being tried for potentially fatal negligence in their care of the star, claimed on Thursday.

Carlos Diaz, an addiction specialist, was heard for the first time in the San Isidro court (near Buenos Aires), where seven health professionals (doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist, nurses) have been on trial for two weeks for their possible responsibility in the 2020 death of the Argentine football icon.

"In Maradona's case, in addition to addiction (to alcohol and psychotropic drugs), we had to treat bipolar disorder and narcissistic personality disorder. Three chronic conditions (that last) a lifetime," said Carlos Diaz, saying he accompanied Maradona towards abstinence in the last month of his life.

This is the first time that a diagnosis of mental illness in Maradona has been mentioned in such a public way by a specialist, although his addictions, particularly to cocaine and alcohol, were already known.

"I was told that his consumption was very much linked to his sporting successes, and that when faced with frustration, he didn't know how to manage" the situation, Mr. Diaz further explained.

Maradona, football legend and 1986 world champion, died at the age of 60 on November 25, 2020, from a cardiorespiratory crisis and pulmonary edema, alone in his bed in a rented residence during home hospitalization to recover from uncomplicated neurosurgery.

"He wanted to be clean."

Carlos Diaz, a 34-year-old addiction specialist, explained that he knew Maradona barely a month before his death, at the end of October 2020, and detected in him "a real desire for change" with regard to his addictions.

His only role in the star's entourage, he argued, was to accompany her on a program aimed at abstinence, which he claimed worked. "The toxicology report showed this, and that's exactly what happened," he asserted.

At the first trial concerning Maradona's death, which was cancelled in May 2025 after a judge was recused, a forensic pathologist certified that no trace of drugs or alcohol in Maradona's blood at the time of his death had been revealed in toxicological examinations.

“We all wanted the best for Maradona,” Carlos Diaz said, adding that the star’s death presented no advantage for him, quite the contrary, “only losses.”

"Economic, emotional losses, especially for my family. Nothing but losses, because what makes me feel the most powerless is that I was totally convinced that the patient wanted to be clean, that he wanted to be sober," he reflected.

The defendants in the trial deny any responsibility for Maradona's death, claiming it was due to natural causes. They hide behind their specialized roles, a division of responsibilities centered around him, effectively shifting the blame onto others. They face between 8 and 25 years in prison.

The trial, with two hearings per week, could drag on until July.