DIEGO MARADONA has stepped down as coach of Mexican team Dorados to have surgery on his shoulder and knee.
The 58-year-old took over in September last year when the team were near the bottom of the table.
He took them to consecutive final series in the 2018 and 2019 tournaments, but they narrowly missed out on promotion.
Matias Morla, said on his Twitter account: "Diego Maradona decided to not continue as the head coach of Dorados.
"On medical advice he will dedicate time to his health and will have two surgeries: in the shoulder and knee.
“We are thankful with the Dorados family and will continue the dream together in the future."
In January, Maradona was admitted to a hospital in Argentina suffering from stomach bleeding, just a few days before returning to Mexico for his second season with Dorados.
Maradona's orthopedic surgeon, German Ochoa, said earlier this year that the former soccer star has no cartilage left in his knees due to severe osteoarthritis and will need replacements.
The club tweeted: "Together we shocked the world. We showed that soccer is all about passion and heart, you will always be a Dorado, thanks for everything Diego.
BRINK OF DEATH
"Get well and we'll see you soon."
His arrival in Sinaloa, considered the heartland of drug-trafficking in Mexico, raised eyebrows due to Maradona's troubles with addictions in the past.
But in his nine month-stint in Mexico he never got into trouble off the pitch and nearly led his team to the first division.
Maradona said after losing the Clausura finals: "I was on the brink of dead, to me, this … is nothing.
"I'm just sad for the guys on the team."
He has been the subject of an explosive new documentary, which details Maradona's time in Napoli.
It shows how he was used by the Italian Mafia, which supplied the cocaine and prostitutes he relied on.
The partying lifestyle appears to have taken its toll on the Argentinian icon, three decades later.
Maradona was stopped last month at an airport after his ex-girlfriend sued him for £5million.
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