After Legal Threat, Konami And Diego Maradona Settle Dispute

After legendary footballer Diego Maradona threatened to sue Konami in March, the two parties have now settled their dispute out of court, according to El Eco (via Kotaku).

Maradona had accused the publisher of using his likeness without his permission in PES 2017, a claim which Konami later denied, saying, "our company is using [this player] appropriately, with the basis of the license within the contract." Now, Konami has reportedly paid the soccer star an undisclosed fee to avoid any further legal conflict. The Argentinian will also now promote PES for the next three years as an official ambassador.

As part of the negotiations, Konami Digital Entertainment president Takayuki Kubo reportedly flew out to Argentina to help resolve the dispute personally. And for his part, Maradona has apparently promised to donate some of the money to help improve grass-roots football facilities in his home country.

As a footballer, Maradona was considered the player of his generation, with a professional career spanning 21 years from 1976 to 1997. He twice broke the world record transfer fee, won countless trophies, and was deemed FIFA's Player of the Century in 2000.

He later went on to manage his home country in the 2010 World Cup, though he failed to guide a strong Argentina team past the quarter-finals.

Most recently, he was appointed manager of Al-Fujairah SC, in the second tier of UAE football.