A football-mad influencer has tragically died aged 13 after a long battle with cancer.
María Caamaño’s death was announced in a heartbreaking message to her 105,000 Instagram followers yesterday (16 April).
The post read: “She fought so hard, right up until the very last second, to keep going.
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“But some things are beyond our control. Since this morning, M4RÍA is now at rest.”
María styled her name “M4RÍA” after the number she wore when she joined a team at the age of four.
She played football until she was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma – the second most common bone tumour in children and adolescents – at seven.
Online, María shared both her love of the beautiful game and her fight against cancer, which she called her “most important match”.
A diehard Atlético Madrid fan, she was invited to the 2023–24 MARCA Football Awards, where she spent a special day with some of LaLiga’s top players.
She also fulfilled a lifelong dream by celebrating with the Spain national team after their Euro 2024 triumph, even lifting the trophy at Madrid’s Cibeles fountain.
María, from Salamanca, also led charitable initiatives such as La Sonrisa de María (María’s Smile), a project supporting childhood cancer research and helping sick children.
The post announcing her death has been flooded with tributes, as reported by Need To Know.
Among those paying their respects were footballers Álvaro Morata, Álex Baena and Rodrigo Riquelme, who wrote: “You’ve taught us all so many lessons. Thank you for all the smiles.”
Her parents and sister Lucía thanked both María’s supporters and “all the medical teams we have worked with over these 2,392 days”.
They added: “Keep smiling – and now more than ever, for her.
“Without research, there is no life. We’ll keep pushing forward, for her.”
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