Dubai served up a towering tribute to Diego Maradona, lighting up the Burj Khalifa with the late football legend’s image on Friday.
The 1986 World Cup-winning captain died of a heart attack at home on Wednesday in Tigre, Argentina, where he was recovering following recent brain surgery.
Tributes have poured in across the world following his death.
In Dubai, images of the footballer in his heyday were projected on to the world’s tallest tower.
On Friday, Nusret Gökçe, better known by his viral name Salt Bae, also honoured the late Diego Maradona by permanently reserving the football legend's favourite table at his Dubai restaurant.
Maradona, who was named as the greatest player of the 20th century by Fifa, was credited with putting UAE football on the global map after he took charge of local team Al Wasl in 2010.
A member of the team in charge of the club’s PR at the time recently spoke about the day he heard Maradona was joining Al Wasl.
"We had started working on Al Wasl's PR a month before, just basic stuff. Then I got a text message – an SMS because WhatsApp wasn't introduced here in the UAE yet – saying: "Dear Tariq. Please prepare yourself, because you will be announcing the appointment of Diego Maradona as our coach," Tariq Al-Sharabi told The National.
“You just don’t get messages like that. Ever. No meeting to discuss a plan for it. Just a casual text message. I replied to say: “Let’s be serious. What is the actual announcement?”
“I was told Maradona was coming to look at the ground, and that eventually he would be appointed. I could not believe it. I had to keep it hushed, but people started making news about it, so we had to make the announcement sooner.
“Suddenly, I was preparing to manage the biggest press conference I’d ever even been to in my life. That was how it started.”
Maradona's burial
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Late Argentine football legend Diego Maradona was buried at the Jardin Bella Vista cemetery, in Buenos Aires province, on November 26, 2020. AFP -
Relatives and friends carry the coffin of the late Argentine football legend Diego Maradona. AFP -
Fans next to the hearse carrying the late Diego Maradona in Buenos Aires. AFP -
Fans next to the hearse carrying the late Argentine football legend Diego Maradona on its way from Casa Rosada presidential palace to the cemetery, in Buenos Aires. AFP -
Aerial view of the burial of late Diego Maradona at the Jardin Bella Vista cemetery, in Buenos Aires. AFP -
Diego Maradona was laid to rest at the Jardin Bella Vista cemetery. AFP -
Fans follow the funeral procession of Diego Maradona from the Plaza de Mayo to the cemetery in Buenos Aires. EPA -
Fans follow the funeral procession carrying the remains of Diego Maradona. EPA -
Fans observe the funeral procession of Diego Maradona. EPA -
People react during a tribute to the late Argentine great Diego Maradona, outside the Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires. Bloomberg -
People stand in front of the Argentina flag in half-mast during a tribute to the late Argentine football star Diego Maradona, outside the Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires. Bloomberg -
A man cries as he carries his child on his shoulders next to police blocking access to the Jardin de Bellavista cemetery during the funeral of Diego Maradona in Buenos Aires. AP -
Police officers try to contain the crowd as fans tried to climb over the fence to enter Casa Rosada during Diego Maradona's funeral. Getty -
Fans try to climb over the fence to enter Casa Rosada during Diego Maradona's funeral. Getty -
Police moved to cut off the back end of the crowd, enraging fans who hurled rocks and other objects at officers, who responded with rubber bullets. Reuters
