In this file photo dated March 22, 2023, flags, banners and a mural depicting late Argentinian football legend Diego Armando Maradona decorate the Spanish quarters as Naples paints the town for its potential first Scudetto championship win in 33 years, in Naples, Italy. (PHOTO / REUTERS)

ROME - Italy's highest court cleared the late Agentine soccer legend Diego Maradona of tax evasion charges, ending a 30-year-long legal battle between the ex-Napoli striker and revenue authorities.

Known as "El Pibe de Oro", or the Golden Foot, Maradona was accused of allegedly using proxy companies in Liechtenstein to dodge legal fees when receiving payments between 1985 and 1990 from the Napoli club for his personal image rights.

"It is over and I can clearly state without fear of being contradicted that Maradona has never been a tax evader," his lawyer, Angelo Pisani, told Reuters.

Rome's Court of Cassation overturned a 2018 verdict in mid-December, a court document published on Wednesday and seen by Reuters showed.

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In this file photo dated June 22, 2021, a person passes by murals painted by artist Marley outside the Diego Armando Maradona stadium as people are gathering to commemorate the Argentine legend's second goal against England during the FIFA World Cup Mexico 1986 on its 35th anniversary, in Buenos Aires. (PHOTO / AFP)

Maradona died in November 2020 from a heart attack. Fans of Napoli and of the Argentine national team worshipped him as the "god of football".

Investigations into the footballer's tax payments started in the early 1990s and resulted in charges of 37 million euros ($40.38 million) and the confiscation of some of the player's belongings during his visits to Italy.

Pisani added that the final verdict "does justice to fans, to the values of sport, but mostly to the memory of Maradona".

"It places a grave stone on a persecution that he suffered for 30 years," he said.

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"...The heirs now have a legal right to claim damages," Pisani said. "I hope that they use it, in memory of their father."