Argentina’s president Alberto Fernandez has declared three days of mourning following the death of football legend Diego Maradona.

Fernandez tweeted a picture of him hugging Maradona alongside a heartfelt message. It said: “You took us to the top of the world. You made us immensely happy. You were the greatest of all.

Thank you for having existed Diego. We’re going to miss you forever.” Meanwhile, schools in Naples will also close on Thursday in honour of the city’s former striker.

Maradona played for Napoli between 1984 and 1991, scoring 115 goals in 259 games. He led them to two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990, as well as the 1987 Italian Cup and 1989 UEFA Cup with president De Laurentiis revealing he is considering changing the name of the San Paolo stadium to include Maradona.

He said: “We can consider the idea of calling our stadium San Paolo-Diego Armanda Maradona.” Meanwhile, Italian Chamber of Deputies President Fico added: “Naples will always be grateful to you for those unforgettable years.”

Nine ambulances were sent to Maradona’s house around midday local time earlier today in the exclusive gated residential neighbourhood of San Andres north of Buenos Aires where Maradona went to live after leaving the hospital

Local reports said one of the nurses caring for him had raised the alarm after discovering he had suffered a suspected heart attack. None of the medical responders who rushed to the house were able to do anything to save him.