Diego Maradona has won compensation from two Chinese firms for using his name in an online game, Hot-Blooded Soccer, without his consent, BBC News reported citing China Daily.

The game had featured a cartoon of Maradona and his signature, which the court ruled infringed his image rights.

The firms, The9 Information Technology Co and The9 Computer Technology Consulting (Shanghai), have been told to pay 3m yuan ($490,000) to the former Argentina player.

Maradona had demanded 20m yuan.

His claim was based the value of on an endorsement deal with a German brand, Maradona's lawyer Ge Youshan, told state-run China Daily.

However, the judge did not accept that argument and said the amount of damages was decided based on the length of time that Maradona's image was used and the popularity of the game.

The game was developed by The9, and had been available on the online gaming platform of one of China's most popular internet portals Sina.

The court has ordered Sina to display an apology on its website, though it was not required to pay a share of the compensation. The game has also been removed.