Maradona in Napoli Tax Fraud

Argentine football legend, Diego Maradona has been hit with a staggering 39million euro (£33million) tax bill for alleged unpaid taxes during his successful career with Napoli in the late 1980s.

The ‘hand of God’ footballer, whom is considered one of the greatest players of all time, has been notified by Italy’s tax collection agency that it will freeze his assets to pay off the outstanding debt.

However, it is claimed the move is simply a formal procedure – with the papers only having a 180-day validity and therefore having to be renewed whenever Maradona is in Italy.

The 52-year-old star, who has been in Milan promoting a DVD series on his life and watching his Napoli play Roma, was handed the tax bill in his hotel room.He is believed to have signed the notification, which legally enables authorities to seize the star’s assets in Italy.

Maradona’s tax woes began since playing for Napoli between 1984 and 1991, when he helped the club win its only two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990.

In 2005, the retired striker was ordered to pay 37.2million euros – 23.5million euros of which were interest on the debt.However, Italian prosecutors started the trial from scratch in 2011 and Maradona’s lawyer, Angelo Pisani won the case in Italy.

A final ruling on January 10 this year from a court in Naples has now made the sentence definitive.

‘I am not a tax fraudster,’ the star protested in his defence last year. ‘I was playing football and someone else was signing for me.’