Diego and The Blades

[Seanshoreham]

Having recently viewed the very revealing Maradona film - talk about hero to zero in Naples - it took me back to a holiday August 1978 in Newquay, Cornwall.
Reading a newspaper during breakfast I asked my Blades supporting girlfriend (now wife) "Diego who" as it was reported that we were going to sign a 17 year wonder kid for £200k, one of those 'if only' moments in life for us

 

[benn5712]

Having recently viewed the very revealing Maradona film - talk about hero to zero in Naples - it took me back to a holiday August 1978 in Newquay, Cornwall.
Reading a newspaper during breakfast I asked my Blades supporting girlfriend (now wife) "Diego who" as it was reported that we were going to sign a 17 year wonder kid for £200k, one of those 'if only' moments in life for us

Watched it yesterday. Yes 'if only'. Talent like his could not have been stifled, may have needed a minder on the pitch.
We would have taken a different trajectory other than downwards and still sold him for loads.

 

[8lade]

I'm at peace with this myself, he'd have been here one season United would have made a profit and it would probably have been Man Utd rather than Leeds where he'd go to.
Two seasons on we'd be back where we started. Anybody genuinely think that it would've played out differently?

 

[Canterbury Blade]

I thought it was £400k they wanted. We wouldn’t pay so got Sabella for £160k. Bear in mind Dalglish had just gone for £440k.

Mind you if he’d come to us at that time with his personality I doubt his career would’ve been so stellar. Rent boy or drug dealer on Parson Cross by age 20...

 

[Pedro Verde]

"Diego who" as it was reported that we were going to sign a 17 year wonder kid for £200k, one of those 'if only' moments in life for us

It was £400k thats why we went for Sabella at £160k
He may have turned out to be a better player if he had chosen to come to England as Im sure his mixing with the Napoli mafia with the drugs etc proabably wouldnt have happened maybe if he had gone to Man Ure he would have been in the pub with Paul McGrath supping pints of Guiness

 

[itsinyerblood]

Can confirm the figure was £400K.

 

[Barney]

We did go on to sign a Diego though. De Girolamo.

 

[Sean Thornton]

It was £400k thats why we went for Sabella at £160k
He may have turned out to be a better player if he had chosen to come to England as Im sure his mixing with the Napoli mafia with the drugs etc proabably wouldnt have happened maybe if he had gone to Man Ure he would have been in the pub with Paul McGrath supping pints of Guiness

He went to Boca Juniors and then Barcelona after Argentinos Juniors, where he stayed for a further couple of years after our interest. He was a pretty good player before he moved to Napoli.

 

[Pedro Verde]

He went to Boca Juniors and then Barcelona after Argentinos Juniors, where he stayed for a further couple of years after our interest. He was a pretty good player before he moved to Napoli.

Looking back it was the Italians that were paying the big wages at that time
Still think he would have been a better player supping Guiness with McGrath than doing coke with the Mafiosi

 

[LoughboroBlade]

I thought it was £400k they wanted.

It was £400k thats why we went for Sabella at £160k

Can confirm the figure was £400K.

This was covered in a piece the other week in The Athletic.


Following subsequent discussions with the United board, a transfer fee of £150,000 was agreed. Diego Armando Maradona seemed destined to become a Sheffield United player.

Hours later, however, matters had taken a sinister turn via a knock on the manager’s hotel door.

Standing there was a member of the junta running the country — Argentina being a military dictatorship at the time following a coup. Having revealed that those in charge knew United were paying a six-figure fee for Maradona, he told Haslam that a further similar-sized sum would have to be paid on top if the military was to let the player leave the country.

“The money was not a problem,” adds Garrett. “The problems came because things had suddenly got political. Having to bribe someone to sign a player was not the sort of thing United wanted to be involved in. It made the directors uncomfortable.

“So, in the end, the club walked away from the deal. Of course, the story has built up since then of how United failed to sign Maradona because they couldn’t afford the transfer and came back with Sabella instead.

“But that isn’t what happened. Even for a 17-year-old, the money at that time was there and United were prepared to take a gamble. It is an amazing story, really.”

Unwritten: How Sheffield United almost signed Diego Maradona...

Only a demand for a bribe stopped the deal. And later, Leeds United had a bite at the cherry too...

theathletic.com

 

[itsinyerblood]

This was covered in a piece the other week in The Athletic.


Following subsequent discussions with the United board, a transfer fee of £150,000 was agreed. Diego Armando Maradona seemed destined to become a Sheffield United player.

Hours later, however, matters had taken a sinister turn via a knock on the manager’s hotel door.

Standing there was a member of the junta running the country — Argentina being a military dictatorship at the time following a coup. Having revealed that those in charge knew United were paying a six-figure fee for Maradona, he told Haslam that a further similar-sized sum would have to be paid on top if the military was to let the player leave the country.

“The money was not a problem,” adds Garrett. “The problems came because things had suddenly got political. Having to bribe someone to sign a player was not the sort of thing United wanted to be involved in. It made the directors uncomfortable.

“So, in the end, the club walked away from the deal. Of course, the story has built up since then of how United failed to sign Maradona because they couldn’t afford the transfer and came back with Sabella instead.

“But that isn’t what happened. Even for a 17-year-old, the money at that time was there and United were prepared to take a gamble. It is an amazing story, really.”

Unwritten: How Sheffield United almost signed Diego Maradona...

Only a demand for a bribe stopped the deal. And later, Leeds United had a bite at the cherry too...

theathletic.com

If that's accurate then it puts a completely different perspective on why DM never signed for the Blades. One of the great footballing tragedies as far as we're concerned.

 

[Kev Gee]

This was covered in a piece the other week in The Athletic.


Following subsequent discussions with the United board, a transfer fee of £150,000 was agreed. Diego Armando Maradona seemed destined to become a Sheffield United player.

Hours later, however, matters had taken a sinister turn via a knock on the manager’s hotel door.

Standing there was a member of the junta running the country — Argentina being a military dictatorship at the time following a coup. Having revealed that those in charge knew United were paying a six-figure fee for Maradona, he told Haslam that a further similar-sized sum would have to be paid on top if the military was to let the player leave the country.

“The money was not a problem,” adds Garrett. “The problems came because things had suddenly got political. Having to bribe someone to sign a player was not the sort of thing United wanted to be involved in. It made the directors uncomfortable.

“So, in the end, the club walked away from the deal. Of course, the story has built up since then of how United failed to sign Maradona because they couldn’t afford the transfer and came back with Sabella instead.

“But that isn’t what happened. Even for a 17-year-old, the money at that time was there and United were prepared to take a gamble. It is an amazing story, really.”

Unwritten: How Sheffield United almost signed Diego Maradona...

Only a demand for a bribe stopped the deal. And later, Leeds United had a bite at the cherry too...

theathletic.com

Interesting...

Before my time but...

I know Sabella is talked about often. But little is spoken of Pedro Verde? Is that because he was shit? Also Veron wanted to play for us as a boy because his uncle was Verde?

 

[Pedro Verde]

I was fantastico
I still have the County Cup

 

[Sheffsteel]

I remember the headlines about us signing 17 year old wonder kid Maradona on the back page of the Sheffield Star.
I’m sure it was reported that most of their board had agreed the deal but one director was on holiday....so it couldn’t be rubber stamped.
When the director returned....they then bumped up the previously agreed fee.....so we pulled out and went for 2nd choice Alex Sabella.

Pedro Verde hardly played for us....when he did play he was just average and didn’t have the silky skills of Sabella.

 

[Silent Blade]

I remember the headlines about us signing 17 year old wonder kid Maradona on the back page of the Sheffield Star.
I’m sure it was reported that most of their board had agreed the deal but one director was on holiday....so it couldn’t be rubber stamped.
When the director returned....they then bumped up the previously agreed fee.....so we pulled out and went for 2nd choice Alex Sabella.

Pedro Verde hardly played for us....when he did play he was just average and didn’t have the silky skills of Sabella.

Argentinos Juniors president

 

[Davalon]