Football icon Diego Maradona threatens to sue Konami

Football icon Diego Maradona has taken to Facebook, announcing his plans to sue Japanese developers Konami for illegally using his name and likeness in football title Pro Evolution Soccer 2017.

"I heard yesterday that the Japanese company Konami uses my image for its game PES 2017," Maradona wrote in a post on Facebook. "Unfortunately, my lawyer Matias Morla will initiate the corresponding legal actions. I hope this is not another scam…"

Konami responded today with a statement of its own, released through the Konami website. It’s short and sweet:

"We deeply appreciate your constant patronage to our products.

There has been media reports about “Winning Eleven 2017” (Overseas name: PES 2017 -Pro Evolution Soccer-) using unauthorised players in the game, but we are using the rights correctly according to the agreement with the Licenser.

We hope to receive your continued patronage to the series in the future."

Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 claimed to feature more licensed players and teams than ever before around the time of its launch. It remains to be seen if perhaps they included one licensed player too many, in this case.