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Diego Maradona death: Madonna trends after fans of Queen of Pop confuse her with legendary footballer

With more than 80,000 tweets in the mix, it would seem that some people had genuinely confused Maradona and Madonna on account of how similar the two names were spelled

On Wednesday, November 25, Argentine football legend Diego Maradona died from a cardiac arrest at the age of 60. As per multiple reports he suffered a heart attack two weeks after leaving the hospital where he underwent surgery on a blood clot in his brain. 

Maradona’s loss is an immense one, not just to Argentines, fans of football, and his colleagues, but also to those who supported him and his brand of anti-imperialist and leftist politics in Latin America and beyond. But the internet has a way of making a mockery of everything. And Maradona’s death was no different. 

On Wednesday, sometime after Maradona’s death was reported, American singer-songwriter and actor, Madonna, often referred to as the "Queen of Pop" began trending on Twitter. And with more than 80,000 tweets in the mix, it would seem that some people had genuinely confused Maradona and Madonna on account of how similar the two names were spelled.

But most people under the trend at the time of writing this seemed to be fixing the error and lamenting it. One Twitter user wrote, “You can’t beat the Americans. MFs mixed Maradona with Madonna.” Another Twitter user said, sharing screenshots of other tweets making this unnecessary error, “Not people thinking Madonna died it's ‘Maradona’ not MADONNA. HELP ME.” yet another Twitter user said, “MADONNA DID NOT DIE, the former Argentine footballer Diego Armando #Maradona died, he suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest from which he could not be resuscitated despite the medical attention received, reported his agent Matías Morla.” One Twitter user said, “Not half the tl getting Maradona and Madonna mixed up.”

Of course, at some point when the mistake was realized, several people began joking about it. One Twitter user wrote, “BREAKING: At the age of 62, American singer and ‘Queen of pop’ Madonna has been found alive in her house enjoying life.” Another Twitter user, sharing a photo of Madonna holding a rugby ball, wrote, “RIP Madonna, Queen of futbol.” One fan of the singer wrote on Twitter, “You are all 'killing' Madonna in Twitter while in real life even the Coronavirus couldn't with her. She is an indestructible diva.” One Twitter user noted while sharing a graph measuring spikes in Google searches of both names, “Madonna's Law - If people can misread something on the internet, they will.”

The Queen of Pop shared a photo last week that showed scars at the top of her thigh, which somehow led her followers to believe she has had hip-replacement surgery. Fans apparently thought it was a photo of her “femoral head”, the highest part of the thigh bone, which is replaced during the operation.

Prior to his death, Maradona left the hospital on November 11 after spending eight days there for emergency brain surgery. According to the Daily Mail, he had driven away from the Olivos clinic just before 6 pm on Wednesday. His lawyer Matias Morlahas said that the iconic player would continue to receive treatment for alcohol dependency, according to the site. Maradona was expected to stay in a house nearby with his daughters.