Incredible! Maradona was close to playing at Olympique de Marseille!
Diego Armando Maradona was very close to being an Olympique de Marseille player
On May 17, 1989, Diego Armando Maradona's Napoli beat Stuttgart of Germany in the final and became champions of the UEFA Cup, today the Europa League. It was Maradona's only international title at the club level, as well as the only conquest of the Italian team in a UEFA competition. However, it was more than that. It was also the beginning of the end of the love story between Maradona and the Neapolitan club.
Maradona with the 1989 UEFA Cup title
In 1986, Bernard Tapie took over as president of Olympique de Marseille. During his presidency, he bought many players to make the Marseille club the best team in France and one of the best in Europe. And one of Bernard Tapie's great goals was to sign Diego Armando Maradona, the best player in the world in those years. "Let's not talk about figures, I will pay twice what Napoli pays... I want you on my team!" Bernard Tapie told Maradona. They offered him 10 million euros per year and all the whims he asked for: a house in an exclusive area, a garage for all his cars, and even private security. "Will you come to get my Ferraris?" Maradona asked. "Tapie and I would have crawled on all fours if he had asked us," Hidalgo (sports director of Olympique de Marseille) told L'Equipe.
Bernard Tapie offered Maradona to earn twice the money
Maradona had the chance to play for Silvio Berlusconi's AC Milan in 1987, but he rejected the idea because he didn't want to hurt the feelings of the Neapolitans. For this reason, the idea of playing in another country like France interested him to avoid problems with the Naples fans.
Corrado Ferlaino, president of Napoli knew about the offer and for that reason, he promised Diego that he would sell him to Marseille if he won the 1989 UEFA Cup. Finally, the Argentine striker fulfilled the promise months later. "It's done. I did everything I had to do. I can go," Maradona declared after winning the match. But the president of Napoli had other plans and during the title celebrations, Ferlaino told Diego: "We are going to fulfill the contract, right? I won't sell you; I just said it to motivate you."
Napoli president Ferlaino did not allow Maradona to leave Napoli
Years later, Maradona revealed in the book "Yo soy el Diego de la Gente" that he felt a lot of anger in that situation. He really wanted to earn more money and Marseille was an excellent option. In addition, he explained that the President of Napoli was afraid of what would happen to him if he sold Maradona. He did not want to be "the son of a *** who let Maradona go". Maradona was so unhappy with the situation that he decided to extend his vacation for a longer time. This generated even more discord between Guillermo Coppola (Maradona's representative), Maradona, and Ferlaino.
In any case, in the following season, Napoli won their second Scudetto and the Italian Super Cup. Another great year for the Naples club. Unfortunately, Maradona left the club a year later. On the other hand, Bernard Tapie's Olympique de Marseille won the UEFA Champions League in 1993, but a year later he was sanctioned for match-fixing, and the team was relegated to the French second division.
In the following season, Maradona obtained his second Scudetto
Continue reading: 1985 Scudetto: the miracle of Hellas Verona
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