Football
ESPN staff 7y

Diego Maradona set to appointed global ambassador with Napoli

Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has revealed that Diego Maradona will be offered a job with the club once he has settled his tax affairs with the Italian authorities.

Maradona, 56, spent seven years at Napoli after joining the club from Barcelona in 1984, leading the club to their only two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990, along with the 1987 Coppa Italia and the 1989 UEFA Cup.

He left the club in 1992 after testing positive for cocaine use, but has seldom been back to Italy since with the government claiming he owes €40 million in back-taxes.

The Italian government is considering legislation that would offer amnesty to individuals, but Maradona has said he has already paid his tax burden.

"I'm thinking of a position as Napoli ambassador in the world," De Laurentiis said, according to the ANSA news agency.

Maradona was back in Napoles on Monday as the guest of honour at an event to celebrate Napoli's first Serie A title 30 years ago at Naples opera house.

"I feel at home here, as I've always felt," Maradona told the San Carlo theatre crowd of 1,300 spectators, some of whom paid up to €330 ($350) for tickets.

"Some people have complained because the tickets cost €300 but we did that because when Pele organizes a show they sell tickets for €200. And he's got to always come second."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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