- Title: ITALY: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Diego Maradona is mobbed as he arrives
- Date: 25th February 2013
- Summary: ROME, ITALY (FEBRUARY 25, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DIEGO MARADONA ARRIVING AT AIRPORT, AND WALKING TO CAR SURROUNDED BY JOURNALISTS AND FANS CAR CARRYING DIEGO MARADONA LEAVING WITH FANS SHOUTING (IN ITALIAN) "THERE'S ONLY ONE MARADONA"
- Embargoed: 12th March 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Italy
- City:
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVACURQYY4YK1RPG0AF2SI6Y5KRI
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Legendary footballer Diego Maradona arrived in Italy on Monday (February 25) to answer questions about tax liabilities.
As the Argentine arrived at a Rome airport he was surrounded by journalists and fans and had to be accompanied by security officials to a waiting car.
The footballer is thought to have built up a tax bill of almost 40 million euros ($54.30 million), of which 36 million is interest built up since 1984, when Maradona joined Serie A club Napoli.
He is expected to give a news conference in Naples on Tuesday (February 26).
Considered among the greatest soccer players ever, Maradona is still Napoli's all-time top scorer and is considered a hero for leading the club to the Serie A title in 1987 and 1990.
He also led Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup and captained the team in the 1990 tournament, when they lost to West Germany in the final in Italy.
Italian authorities have long pursued the 52-year-old, seizing diamond earrings worth 4,000 euros when he visited a weight loss clinic in northern Italy in 2009.
When Maradona came to Naples for a benefit match in 2006, he was mobbed by supporters but financial police stripped him of two Rolex watches worth 10,000 euros each to help pay off the bill.
The previous year his payment for appearing on TV show 'Dancing with the Stars' was confiscated and in 2001 he was met by 20 police officers as he got off a plane in Rome. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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