The Diego Maradona-Konami feud has turned into a “life comes at you fast” meme, as it was announced on Sunday that the Argentine legend would not only stop suing the Japanese video game company, but that he would also be joining them as an ambassador for Pro Evolution Soccer.
Maradona–who just became the manager of Al-Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates–had been suing Konami for unauthorized usage of his likeness and name in Pro Evolution Soccer 2017, where the publishers included him as one of the “Legends” available in the game’s myClub mode (basically a trading card game where players can acquire different players to use in matches). Maradona posted on his Facebook page that he had no knowledge of his image being used in the game, and that he was going to start legal action via his lawyer, Matias Morla.
For their part, Konami put out a statement shortly afterwards, saying that they had all of the rights to use Maradona in the game: “At this time, there have been news that in Winning Eleven 2017 (international title: PES 2017 Pro Evolution Soccer) there is one player that is being used without permission; however, our company is using [this player] appropriately, with the basis of the license within the contract.”
All that matters little now, as Maradona has reached an agreement to settle out of court with Konami, and in return, he will help promote the series through 2020. It’s being reported by Argentinian out El Eco that Konami was so serious about settling that president Takayaki Kubo flew to Argentina personally to discuss with the legendary soccer player and his people.
Whatever the negotiations, they worked, and now Konami killed two birds with one soccer ball, avoiding a lawsuit and getting one of the most famous players of all time on its side.