Real Madrid s iconic former striker Alfredo di Stefano has been hospitalized again because of a heart problem, the Spanish club said Saturday.
The 84-year-old was taken to Madrid s Sanitas-La Moraleja Hospital on Friday after suffering a low to moderate cardiorespiratory descompensation, it said in a statement posted on its website.
The medical staff decided to keep him at the hospital for optimum monitoring, given his history, the club added.
Di Stefano, who is Real s honorary president, spent nine days in the hospital this month after doctors discovered a respiratory infection during a checkup.
He was allowed to leave the hospital but received out-patient treatment.
A two-time European Player of the Year, the Argentine-born Di Stefano played for Real from 1953 to 1963, scoring 418 goals in 510 games.
He became a Spanish citizen in 1956 and was named best player in Real Madrid s history in an online poll taken by the club in 2008.