Silvio Berlusconi, the former owner of AC Milan, offered impressive terms to Diego Armando Maradona, who repeatedly refused to come to the club from Milan.
The arrival of Maradona in Napoli absolutely changed the entire Serie A. The then owner of Milan, Silvio Berlusconi, was immediately interested in the fantastic Argentinian, who, in order to convince him to play for the Rossoneri, made an incredible offer to his manager.
The biggest dream of the “Eternal President“, who died yesterday as a result of a persistent illness, was to bring Maradona into the ranks of the “devils” from Milan. He tried that right before the beginning of the golden age of that club in 1987, shortly after Berlusconi himself arrived at the helm of Milan.
In November of that year, the director of the Rossoneri at the time invited Guillermo Coppola, who was then conducting negotiations on Maradona’s behalf, to his villa in Milan and offered him a blank check to convince him to bring the Argentine to the Italian metropolis.
According to Coppola, Berlusconi offered double the amount of money that Maradona is being offered by Napoli.
“If Napoli gives him 20, I will give him 40; if Napoli gives him 40, I’ll give him 80.” Berlusconi said, in the words of the former national team player, to whom, among other benefits, he offered an apartment worth two million dollars. The Italian received a resounding no as an answer.
In that period, threats to both Maradona and Berlusconi came from all sides. It was rumored that a bomb had been planted in one of the media outlets owned by the Italian tycoon, which is why Maradona was forced to come forward and reveal that the conversation with the owner of Milan took place in the ‘Rosonero’ complex.
On June 24, 1993, the largest Italian sports media outlet, “La Gazzetta dello Sport,” shook the world football scene with a headline that read: “Sensational proposal shakes football; Milan calls: Maradona, come.”
Almost six years later, the owner of Milan returned for the footballer of his dreams.
The reality was a little different, though. During that period, the Argentinian was engaged in Seville and did not appear on the field for months due to a positive anti-doping test. So things got complicated despite Berlusconi’s strong belief that he could convince Maradona to play in the red and black jersey.
“I express deep regret, and not only because Maradona was the best player of his generation. He was a fragile person, and maybe discipline and attention from the people who were in my Milan would have helped him avoid some mistakes.” Berlusconi commented barely two months ago in an interview with the Italian newspaper “La Gazzetta dello Sport”.
“Maradona was the greatest symbol and flag of Naples in history, at least until today. You cannot buy flags, and you cannot move them. It would be like taking the heart out of the whole city and moving it to Milan,” added the former president of Milan in one of the last interviews he did during his life.
