A new film about the incredible life of soccer legend Diego Maradona will release next month, but the former Argentina captain and coach is telling his fans that they shouldn't bother about watching it. Posters for the documentary read "Diego Maradona: Rebel. Hero. Hustler. God" and the third of those four adjectives seems to have upset him.
Director Asif Kapadia and his team were on the red carpet for the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival over the weekend, but "El Diego" did not attend due to "a shoulder injury requiring medical attention."
The 58-year-old, who is now coaching in Mexico, has spent a lot of time in hospitals recently. This movie is the latest look at one of the greatest players in soccer history, features exclusive interviews with Maradona, and was constructed using hours of previously unseen footage from his personal archives.
(3L-5L) James Gay-Rees, Asif Kapadia and Chris King attend the screening of "Diego Maradona" during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 19, 2019. /VCG Photo
(3L-5L) James Gay-Rees, Asif Kapadia and Chris King attend the screening of "Diego Maradona" during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 19, 2019. /VCG Photo
The documentary on the life of 1986 World Cup-winning captain is set for general release on June 14. Kapadia said: "He hasn't seen it yet, so that's going to be a thing, until he sees it. I'm not sure if he understands how the film has been put together. And I think that's going to be one of the interesting things. I tried many times to show it to him to explain where we are coming from."
He also added: "I'm not sure if, when he is talking to us, if he thinks it's going to be like many other documentaries made about him that are already out there on TV or YouTube, because the fact that we are dealing with archive from way back, there will be lots of images that he himself hasn't seen of himself, of his family, of his kids. So I think it's going to be quite emotional for him."