Why Maradona Did Not Sign For Tottenham —Man United Legend

Manchester United 1999 treble winner Teddy Sheringham revealed that Diego Maradona was on his way to Tottenham Hotspur, but the Argentine’s “baggage” ultimately derailed the transfer.

Speaking exclusively on talkSPORT and Burger King’s Squad Table, Sheringham recounted how then‑Spurs manager Ossie Ardiles had asked for his opinion on a potential signing of the former World Cup champion.

Although Maradona never joined the north London club, Ardiles still managed to bring in significant star power in his place.

“We’re going back a few years, and you’re talking about people you’d want to sit down with, Maradona would have to be one,” Sheringham said.

“Ossie Ardiles was my manager at Tottenham, he came to me one afternoon.

“He said, ‘I want your opinion on something, Ted. I’m thinking about signing someone, what do you think?’”

“I went, ‘Well, go on, who?’ He went, ‘Maradona.’ I just erupted and was like, ‘Ossie, just do it.’ He said, ‘Okay, it’s in the pipeline.’”

“He came back a couple of weeks later and said, ‘Look, we can’t sign him. There’s too much baggage. But we’re going to sign [Jurgen] Klinsmann instead.’”

“Five minutes later, Klinsmann was at the club and all was forgiven. But Maradona would have been a good one.”