Maradona: the one that got away?

Matthew Bell scours the archives to find the truth about the deal that never happened - Diego Maradona to Sheffield United

Aug 29, 2022

Various versions of history relate that in 1978 Sheffield United could have signed seventeen-year-old Diego Maradona from Argentinos Juniors instead of Alejandro Sabella from River Plate. Such accounts have been repeated so frequently that the postulation has become generally accepted as fact. But how true is it?

Pritchett

In all his contemporary reports, the Sheffield Star’s sports reporter Tony Pritchett, the ‘man on the spot’ who was privy to many of the talks and meetings that took place in Argentina in July 1978, did not mention Maradona. But the fact that Pritchett did not write about Maradona means little, for he did not name any players until the deal for United to sign Sabella was concluded. Pritchett was not a reporter to betray confidences. But there is no doubt that had Haslam’s main target been Maradona, Pritchett would have known about it.

However, a few days after the start of the 1978/79 season, Pritchett felt it a safe enough distance to officially record what had until now remained unsaid. In the process, he brought to the attention of the British public the name of Diego Maradona. For many readers, it would have been the first time they had heard about this ‘wonder boy’. In a column headlined ‘The Story of United and the Million Dollar Kid’ Pritchett wrote:

Few people in Europe have ever heard of the greatest and most exciting young star in the country; probably in the world. His name is Diego Maradona, his age seventeen. He is regarded as a national treasure and they have already refused an offer of £500,000 to buy him from Italy … and Sheffield United tried to buy him. I shall never forget Harry Haslam working all hours of the day and night trying first to prise Maradona loose from his club, and then to raise one million dollars on the phone. It might really have come off, too, had not Maradona’s club, Argentinos Juniors, changed their minds. Apparently they feared some sort of mass demonstration if they agreed to let him go. So, remember the name. They really believe he’s Pelé’s heir and, if he makes it, remember that United came so close to landing him.

This – written at the time, don’t forget – appears to be incontrovertible proof that Maradona very nearly became a Sheffield United player, and Pritchett stuck by his account for the remainder of his life. In May 1980, on the day United sold Alex Sabella to Leeds United, Pritchett wrote in the Sheffield Star that, unable to land Osvaldo Ardiles, Haslam set his sights even higher: on Maradona.

Initially quoted a fee of £1 million by Argentinos Juniors, Pritchett claimed that Haslam beat them down to £600,000, but his directors could not raise the cash. Then in January 1981, soon after Haslam left United, the now former manager corroborated much of the story in an interview with journalist Cynthia Bateman that appeared in both the Guardian and the Sheffield Star.

Author Jimmy Burns interviewed many of the protagonists (but not Maradona) for his 1997 book ‘Hand of God – The Life of Diego Maradona’ and consequently wrote what is perhaps the most extensive coverage of the idea that Maradona might have been sold to Sheffield United. One of his interviewees was Pritchett, who said:

[Maradona] was the prince, the greatest player in South America. It became obvious from the moment we arrived that for him to leave Argentina would quickly become a national football scandal. Haslam’s Argentine contacts made it clear that if we wanted Maradona, he would have to be smuggled out of the country, and there would have to be extra payments for those involved.

Shortly before his death in 2001, Pritchett told a similar tale to Gary Armstrong for his 2006 book ‘Sheffield United FC – The Biography’:

Their press said we’d come to steal ‘the boy’. I honestly don’t think Haslam was after him. Then Maradona was offered to United, at £600,000 plus well-greased palms to certain people to get him out of the country. The greasing was for the generals, some politicians and some FA figures. They also made it known that there would be an uproar if Maradona left. United didn’t have that money.

Haslam

Pritchett’s interpretations of events are consistent and appear convincing. Furthermore, in ‘Hand of God’ Burns wrote: ‘Haslam was clear which player he wanted to bring home with him: Diego Maradona.’ Burns said Haslam twice saw Maradona play; first in an Argentinos Juniors home game, then in an away match in the coastal city of Mar del Plata.

Haslam died in 1986 but was quoted in Burns’ book:

‘[Antonio] Rattin drove me to this poorish, non-league ground with only a bit of cover and no directors’ box. We had to watch through some glass from a clubroom. This was Maradona’s club. He did some ball tricks before the kick-off and then started playing. I just couldn’t believe that a mere kid would have so much all-round ability. Thanks to Rattin I had the field to myself and I knew this compact little boy was worth a million.’

Aloisio and Cyterszpiler

In Mar del Plata Haslam met Maradona’s advisor Jorge Cyterszpiler at a seafront restaurant, before which Cyterszpiler was suspicious of the Englishman and his motives. But after a few minutes in Haslam’s company, Cyterszpiler thought: ‘This guy is OK, after all.’ Haslam also got on well with Settimio Aloisio, vice-president of Argentinos Juniors.

Initially, Haslam’s visit did not catch the attention of Argentina’s football press, but Burns claimed the country’s military leaders were keeping a watchful eye on his activities. Aloisio is quoted in ‘Hand of God’ as saying: ‘I remember when Haslam saw Maradona play for the first time, he got terribly excited. At one game, he turned to me and said, “Settimio, there is no doubt in my mind that we are in the presence of a great player with tremendous talent.”’ Haslam made a formal approach to buy Maradona, who told Aloisio and Cyterszpiler that the prospect of playing in England was enticing. But Maradona’s willingness was not enough – monetary terms had to be agreed.

Haslam felt he had overstepped his limit by offering US$900,000 (around £485,000 at the time) but the Argentinians, accustomed to a different manner of negotiations, thought this merely an opening bid that would rise after a few rounds of talks. Aloisio was willing to accept the money there and then, believing it would benefit everybody, saying: ‘I thought the deal Haslam was offering was fabulous. It was good all round, for his club, for our club and for Maradona himself.’

Aloisio’s board of directors, however, were demanding a minimum of US$1.5 million (£808,000). This amount was too high for Haslam to consider, especially as add-ons for Maradona himself, various agents, officials and the military regime would inflate the price further. Haslam did not have the financial weight of Tottenham Hotspur, who had whisked away Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa, instead relying on the generosity of Sheffield United director Albert Bramall. The figures mentioned were too steep for Bramall, who reluctantly sent word to Haslam that he and the board were not able to approve the deal. A disappointed Haslam had no option but to withdraw from the bidding for the boy who later was to become the best player in the world. This version of events, as described by Burns in ‘Hand of God’, has much to commend it as it is based on the testimonies of several of the central characters, but not, notably, either Maradona himself or Antonio Rattin.

Maradona

Indeed, Maradona’s recollection of this period in his 2005 autobiography ‘El Diego’ amounts to just twelve words. He wrote (or it was written for him), when talking about the time immediately after the 1978 World Cup: ‘In those days there was also talk of Barcelona, Sheffield United even.’ This brief sentence includes the sole reference to Sheffield United in Maradona’s book. If Maradona was close to signing for Sheffield United in 1978, he had either forgotten by 2005 or it was simply, in his words, ‘talk’, possibly generated by reporters who had seen Harry Haslam at a couple of Argentinos Juniors matches.

Maradona was more elaborative in an interview in the January 2012 edition of ‘FourFourTwo’ magazine, in which various readers posed questions. One questioner asked Maradona: ‘I couldn’t believe it when I heard my team Sheffield United put in a bid for you while you were young, only for your club Argentinos Juniors to reject it. Did you know anything about this bid at the time?’ Maradona’s reply was surprising and enlightening, as he said:

Yes! Not only was it a real offer, it seemed that the transfer was about to happen – Carlos Fren and me. We were both going to travel. I think we even had our flights bought. I think you’re not going sleep well today, but I swear, we were really looking forward to it. But then, the transfer collapsed and we couldn’t go. Sheffield and Arsenal, they both tried to sign me. It would have been a pleasure to play in England.

So, in 2005 Maradona brushed off as mere ‘talk’ speculation that Sheffield United were interested in signing him. Then seven years later, he claimed that he and Carlos Fren almost boarded a plane to England, only for a late hitch to put a stop to their travel plans. The fact that Fren was sold by Argentinos Juniors to Independiente in 1978 confirms that his club was prepared to let him go.

Rattin

As for Rattin, when interviewed by Gary Armstrong in 2006 for his book ‘Sheffield United FC – The Biography’, the former Argentina captain and Haslam’s agent in 1978 claimed no knowledge of the possibility of United signing Maradona. According to Rattin, Haslam’s primary target was Boca Juniors midfielder Mario Zanabria. It is entirely reasonable that Rattin, a Boca legend, should first put Haslam in touch with his own club. Instead, Haslam’s head was turned by River Plate’s Sabella, so Rattin eased the way for Haslam to meet River’s chairman Jorge Kiper to discuss a transfer, which was just as well, as Rattin said that Zanabria was not interested in moving to England. It is also worth noting that Haslam did not mention Maradona’s name to Keith Burkinshaw, informing the Tottenham Hotspur manager only that he was going ‘to see a lad play’. Maradona was not offered to Tottenham, whereas Ardiles and Villa, on whom Haslam was given first refusal, were. This indicates that Haslam did not know about Maradona when he landed in Buenos Aires, only learning about him a few days later.

None of the evidence is wholly persuasive, but the balance of probability suggests that Sheffield United were indeed in a position to buy Diego Maradona – if only they had had enough money, both for the fee involved and the monetary inducements required. It is perfectly credible that Haslam was not aware of Maradona’s potential and reputation when he arrived in Argentina, but it did not take long for him to find out. Regardless of the reality of the events of those days in Argentina in July 1978, one can only imagine what might have been.

Three years later Sheffield United were in the Fourth Division; is it an exaggeration to believe that, with Maradona, in that time, they might have instead qualified for European competition? On such moments the whole future – and history – of a football club can rest.