Audio By Carbonatix
Palermo forward Fabrizio Miccoli has been revealed as the mystery buyer of an earring seized from Diego Maradona as part payment for his tax arrears.
The piece of jewellery was taken by police while the Argentina head coach was attending a weight-loss clinic in the country back in September 2009.
Maradona owes more than 30m euros (£26.5m) in unpaid taxes.
Miccoli, a huge fan of the Argentina legend, paid 25,000 euros (£22,048) for the earring at auction in January.
The former Italy international was asked if he will return the piece of jewellery to Maradona and told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "He knows that I have it. It'll be difficult to meet him now, but we'll see each other soon.
"I called my son Diego in his honour."
Maradona played in Serie A for Napoli between 1984 and 1991, helping them to win the Serie A title in 1987 and 1990 and the Uefa Cup in 1989.
Italian officials have been seeking payments from the Argentinian since 2005 and three years ago police seized two Rolex watches worth in the region of 10,000 euros (£8,800) from Maradona when he visited Naples for a charity match.
In 2005 tax authorities in the country seized thousands of euros he earned for taking part in the Italian version of the television show "Dancing With The Stars".
Maradona is regarded as one of the best players in the sport's history, leading Argentina to the World Cup in 1986, but the 49-year-old suffered with drug addiction and serious health problems after hanging up his boots.
An iconic figure in Argentina, Maradona was named as Alfio Basile's successor as head coach of the national side in November 2008 and managed to reach June's World Cup despite inconsistent form and a large turnover of players during qualification.
Source: BBC
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Timber Millers condemn attack on Forestry Commission checkpoint in Bono East
12 minutes -
‘My father wanted me on the farm, my mother wanted me in school’ — Sissala East MP
12 minutes -
Imperial–AIMS Global Fellows Programme champions climate innovation to tackle urban heat
22 minutes -
5th edition of Game 11 football festival scheduled for July 11
28 minutes -
FoSCel leads national World Sickle Cell Day commemoration, renews call for genotype testing and early screening
28 minutes -
GHS intensifies call for genotype testing, early screening as Ghana Marks World Sickle Cell day
31 minutes -
Meet of Champions 2026: Unstoppable GH Dolphins emerge overall champions
1 hour -
Ten-man Paraguay send Türkiye crashing out
1 hour -
Australia confirms first case of H5N1 bird flu as virus reaches every continent
2 hours -
African and Caribbean nations call for formal apology for transatlantic slavery
2 hours -
KNUST Vice-Chancellor calls for genotype awareness and national action to combat sickle cell disease
2 hours -
Parliament’s Health Committee chair calls for free sickle cell treatment
2 hours -
CSA warns organisations over global ‘FortiBleed’ cyber threat
2 hours -
Coach Freeman launches music and talent camp for young voices
2 hours -
We want three points from every game – Black Stars defender Jerome Opoku
2 hours