Santiago Lara, a 19-year-old teenager from Argentina, has claimed to be the lovechild of Diego Maradona and has asked for the footballer’s body to be dug up for DNA evidence to prove his case. The Napoli legend passed away earlier this week at the age of 60 after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home in Tigre, weeks after successful surgery on a blood clot in his brain. All Blacks Pay Tribute To Diego Maradona Ahead Of The Rugby Championship Clash With Argentina (Watch Video).

The 19-year-old instructed his lawyer to make an appeal less than 24 hours after the Argentine footballing legend was buried in a private ceremony in Buenos Aries. Jose Nunez lodged a written request with a family court in Santiago's home city of La Plata, demanding Maradona's autopsy, DNA results and the exhumation of his body so it can be transferred to a court morgue. Diego Maradona Dies at 60: Kolkata Remembers ‘God of Football’ by Sharing Pics of His 2008 and 2017 Visit.

The development emerged when Santiago appeared on Argentinian TV to make his case. ‘My mum sadly died when I was just three years old but days before her death, when she had to remove her ventilator to speak, she told a group of lawyers I was Diego's son,’ the 19-year-old told Telemundo programme Suelta la Sopa.

It is understood that the document filed by Jose Nunez and his partner Juan Benitez, demands the exhumation and preservation of Diego Maradona's body until DNA tests can be carried out 'so Santiago Lara can obtain his true identity.' The document also adds that the teenager found out about Maradona’s death through media which caused him 'great pain, worry, suffering and anguish.'

Diego Maradona officially has five children, Diego Sinagra, Dalma, Fernando, Jana and Giannia Maradona – who was married to Sergio Aguero – and Santiago Lara is the supposed sixth child of the footballer. The teenager's mother, waitress Natalia Garat, died aged 23 from lung cancer in 2006 following an alleged seven-year on-off relationship with Maradona.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 29, 2020 12:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).