The football world mourns the passing of the great Diego Maradona

The death has occurred at the age of 60 of Diego Maradona, the greatest football star of his generation.

He died of a heart attack while recovering from surgery he underwent last month to repair a bleed in his brain.

His greatest achievement was captaining his native Argentina to World Cup success at the finals in Mexico in 1986.

He played for Barcelona and Napoli during his club career, winning two Serie A titles with the Italian side.

Maradona scored 34 goals in 91 appearances for Argentina, representing them in four World Cups.

He led his country to the 1990 final in Italy, where they were beaten by West Germany, before captaining them again in the United States in 1994, but was sent home after failing a drugs test for ephedrine.

He retired from professional football in 1997, on his 37th birthday, during his second stint at Argentine giants Boca Juniors.

Having briefly managed two sides in Argentina during his playing career, Maradona was appointed head coach of the national team in 2008 and left after the 2010 World Cup, where his side were beaten by Germany in the quarter-finals.

Paying tribute Liam Brady said Maradona was the "greatest player of his generation."

Brady came up against Maradona during their time in Serie A in the early 80s with Brady at Juventus and Sampdoria and Maradiona at Napoli where he helped secure two League titles and said he "had everything".

"He was like a rubber ball, a very low centre of gravity and could turn any direction. He had such great vision and very difficult to play against."

His remarkable playing talents will live long in the memory.

May his gentle soul rest in peace.