Diego Maradona’s backing: From skimpy clothing to tuition and a vehicle

The late Diego Maradona paid for a nude photo shoot for a teenage glamor model, giving her a huge boost in her career before she wasted the cash on a car and college.

By
Tennis Tonic
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Antonela's Nudes Were Paid for by Diego Maradona
Image via Getty Images and Instagram @antonela_avellaneda

One stunning model used funds from Diego Maradona for a naked photo shoot, using the money to pay for her car and college tuition.

Three years ago today, the renowned Argentine football icon—often acclaimed as the best player in the history of the game—passed suddenly from a heart attack at the age of sixty. Maradona leaves behind a mixed record of on-field skill—he won two Serie A titles with Napoli and was a spectacular World Cup winner in 1986, for example—and controversial off-field behavior, which included drug use and relationships with attractive women.

Antonela Avellaneda, a later-famous reality TV personality and Playboy model, was one of these ladies. Avellaneda, a devoted follower of Maradona, saw the photo session as a dream come true. She told Splash magazine about her brush with Maradona and how much she loved him, remembering how they first met when she was quite young. She underlined how exclusive the photo session was, featuring unusual clothes and settings in distant locales.

Before social media became so popular, Avellaneda explained how she got Maradona’s attention by referencing a book in which she displayed her artwork. She remembered how Maradona had acknowledged her as a well-known person, a memory she still treasured and how much she missed him.

About the money, she explained how, at the age of 18, she used it to finance her studies in digital marketing, support her family, start a business, and buy her first vehicle, a Corsa. Her modeling career also benefited greatly from these monies, which allowed her to visit places like Chile, Mexico, and Brazil that she felt she would not have been able to otherwise.

Avellaneda, who was born in Argentina and is now a naturalized citizen of Brazil, gained notoriety in 2019 for her appearances in Playboy Portugal after being featured on the magazine’s cover in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Notably, she chooses not to use sites like OnlyFans in favor of sending a small number of VIP clients only exclusive content via her Instagram, with an emphasis on one-on-one conversations and unique photo shoots.