Born on 30 October 1960 on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Diego Armando Maradona grew up with playing football and was nicknamed ‘the golden boy’. He started his career at Argetinos Juniors and then played for Boca Juniors before he went on to play for Argentina’s national team.
Maradona, setting the bar high for transfer fees
Maradona is the only player in football history to set the world record transfer fee twice, first when he transferred to Barcelona for a record 5 million pounds, and second, when he transferred to Napoli for another record fee of 6.9 million pounds.
At Napoli, where he would reach the peak of his professional career, Maradona quickly became an adored figure among the club’s fans, and in his time there elevated the team to the most successful era in its history.
In 1987 Napoli, led by Maradona, won their first ever Serie A Italian Championship. The whole town was celebrating and the Argentinian player enjoined the popularity. Two years later they would manage to repeat the performance, winning their second Championship.
Downfall of a legend. Drugs, scandals and retirement
While he was successful on the field, during his time at the club Maradona’s personal problems increased. He started using cocaine, missing games and practices, faced a scandal regarding an illegitimate son and was allegedly tied to the infamous Camorra clan.
After the time spent in Italy, he returned to Spain to play for Sevilla and soon to Argentina to play for Newell’s Old Boys. In the 1994 World Cup he again tested positive for drugs, and he was banned, by FIFA, from playing football one year. He transferred to Boca Juniors where he played until his retirement in 1997.