Maradona flees in a truck

The hunt for Diego Maradona resembled the Keystone Cops yesterday after the former Argentine captain fled in a pick-up truck before dawn from a Buenos Aires hotel, where he had been besieged by reporters.

There was further bad news for Maradona, who disappeared on Sunday, when his analyst announced he was suing him. "I'm going to start a lawsuit [for fees] almost as the last step in his treatment, because Diego doesn't realise what others do for him," the analyst, Ruben Navedo, said. "Someone, the courts, must make him realise."

Maradona was discovered after a four-day search which inspired a variety of theories for his disappearance, ranging from a row with his wife, Claudia, to treatment in a drugs clinic. His disappearance also prompted the intervention of the Argentine president, Carlos Menem, who promised help for Maradona.