'Larger-than-life' Diego Maradona to get his own reality TV show
The Argentine, who is as famous for his colourful and controversial misadventures as he his for football, is to be the subject of an "unprecedented super-production"
Diego Maradona's larger-than-life exploits are coming to the small screen, producers said Thursday, announcing the Argentine football legend will be the subject of a new TV series targeting international audiences.
"Every month of my life could make 100 episodes. Everything I've lived surpasses any kind of fiction," Maradona said in a press release from Argentine TV channel Telefe, the producer of the new series. Telefe said it had signed a deal with Maradona to make a show about his life, but did not give details on the format, cast or release date.
"Unprecedented super-production"
Maradona said he was "happy and enthusiastic that Telefe is developing this project for the world." Telefe's content director, Tomas Yankelevich, said the company was looking for partners to make an "unprecedented super-production."
"It's an incredible challenge as a producer to think about fictionalising the life of the best player of all time and probably the best-known person in the world," he said.
Maradona, 55, is worshipped in Argentina, which he led to the World Cup title in 1986. His fame as a football genius is rivalled only by the infamy of his colourful and controversial misadventures, including a pair of doping bans and battles with drug addiction, alcoholism and obesity.