‘Maradona rejected by Inter, Juventus and Sampdoria before Napoli’ in 1984

STUTTGART, GERMANY – MAY 17: Napoli captain Diego Maradona surrounded by media and police celebrates after the 1989 UEFA Cup Final second leg between VFB Stuttgart and S.S.C Napoli at Neckarstadion on May 17, 1989 in Stuttgart, West Germany. (Photo by Simon Bruty/Allsport/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Pierpaolo Marino, the man who brought Diego Armando Maradona to Napoli, reveals Juventus, Inter and Sampdoria all ‘turned down’ the chance to sign El Pibe de Oro first.

The arrival of Maradona to Serie A in 1984 was a huge event with thousands of fans flocking to what was then the Stadio San Paolo, now renamed in his honour following his death in November 2020.

He went on to win two Serie A titles with Napoli, the UEFA Cup, the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana, but it was almost very different.

How Maradona came to Napoli in 1984

“At the time, I was the youngest director in Serie A and to celebrate Avellino’s safety, I drew up a contract with Barcelona worth $100,000 to play a friendly if they brought Maradona along,” Marino told Radio Serie A.

“Just eight days before the match, the intermediary who worked on the deal – FIFA agent Riccardo Fuiga – arrived in my office to warn me Barcelona were coming, but without Diego, because he’d had a row with the club. He told me to figure something out for the 40,000 spectators coming.

“So, Fuiga proposed that I try to get someone in the Italian market to pick up Maradona. The only clubs who could afford him were Juventus, Sampdoria and Inter. I called all three, but none of them accepted. They all turned me down.

“Fuiga was stunned, he said how is it possible we’re offering Maradona and can’t find a club?”

At the time, Maradona was 23 years old and had made the move from Argentina to Barcelona only two years earlier.

Napoli had never won the Serie A title, but Marino found a club that knew the sheer number of shirt sales and crowd attendances could pay off this investment.

“A few nights before, I had been at dinner with Antonio Juliano, the director of Napoli, who told me they were looking for a foreign player. I called him, initially he said no, but 10 minutes later called back.

“The next morning, we organised a meeting. And the rest is history.”

Maradona scored 115 goals and provided 76 assists in 257 competitive appearances in the Napoli jersey.

His image remains depicted on the walls of the city and the stadium now holds his name with a statue in the tunnel leading up to the pitch.