Former Brazil and Real Madrid defender Roberto Carlos has undergone surgery for a heart issue, reported Spanish daily sports newspaper Diario AS on Wednesday.
The 52-year-old former full-back, now serving as a Madrid ambassador, was on holiday in his home country when a medical examination revealed a heart dysfunction.
According to AS, Roberto Carlos initially sought tests due to a small blood clot in his leg. However, a full-body MRI showed his heart was not functioning properly. He was admitted to the hospital for surgery to have a catheter inserted.
The procedure, which was expected to last 40 minutes, extended to nearly three hours due to complications, AS said. The surgery was successful.
Roberto Carlos is reportedly out of danger but remains
under close observation and will stay hospitalised for another 48 hours to ensure his recovery continues.
The newspaper contacted the former Brazil star and his entourage, quoting him as saying: “I’m fine now.”
Who Is Roberto Carlos?
Roberto Carlos, one of the most attack-minded left backs of all time, won 125 caps for Brazil and played for Madrid for 11 years.
He was a member of the World Cup squads that reached the final in 1998 and won in 2002. He also helped Brazil win the Copa America in 1997 and 1999 and won the Champions League three times with Madrid.
Roberto Carlos once produced a stunning “banana” free kick that seemed to defy the laws of physics and was analysed by scientists.
Regarded by many as the best free kick in the history of the game, he struck the ball with the outside of his left foot from 35 yards, bending it around France’s three-man wall during an exhibition tournament in Lyon in 1997.
The shot looked way off target, and a ball boy standing 10 yards from the goal even ducked his head, but at the last moment, it swerved dramatically into the net. The bewildered France goalkeeper, Fabien Barthez, had not even moved.
Roberto Carlos claimed at the time he had done it before, against Roma when he was playing for Inter Milan, although he never quite managed to repeat his 1997 trick.
(With inputs from Agencies)
