Soccer great Maradona alleging ex-wife used his money to buy SoFla condos

Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona scored a small victory in court on Wednesday.

Maradona can move forward with his lawsuit against his ex-wife. The suit claims that Claudia Villafane misappropriated millions of his dollars and used it to buy South Florida real estate. Villafane’s attorneys unsuccessfully argued to have the case dismissed, saying it should be tried in Argentina, where the statute of limitations expired.

But the state’s Third District Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Maradona Wednesday, reversing a lower court’s decision to dismiss the suit, according to the Sun Sentinel.

Maradona, considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time, was married to Villafane from 1989 to 2003. He played in four FIFA World Cups, and later became a head coach.

In 2015, he filed his suit against his ex-wife, alleging she used his money to purchase six condos in Miami Beach, Hallandale Beach and elsewhere, using Florida entities to do so. State records show Villafane is the registered agent for four Florida companies.

Maradona also claimed that her misuse was uncovered through an audit in 2014. His suit will return to a lower Miami court, according to the newspaper. [Sun Sentinel]  — Katherine Kallergis