Football Genius Destroyed by Crime, Cocaine and Corruption
David Arrowsmith investigates the criminal influence, addiction and exploitation that shadowed Diego Maradona's extraordinary football career. Published around the 40th anniversary of Argentina's 1986 World Cup victory, it examines the forces behind the star's decline.
Online Price
Killing Maradona: How Cocaine, the Camorra, Cartels and Crime Corrupted Football's Greatest Talent
Collect 53 Reward Points
- Guaranteed Delivery on
- Free Delivery from
- Order by 6pm for Same Day Dispatch
Football Genius Destroyed by Crime, Cocaine and Corruption
David Arrowsmith investigates the criminal influence, addiction and exploitation that shadowed Diego Maradona's extraordinary football career. Published around the 40th anniversary of Argentina's 1986 World Cup victory, it examines the forces behind the star's decline.
- Book Synopsis
-
Drugs, cartels, mafia, addiction, the FBI, and coercion - this is the untold story behind the tragic decline of football's most gifted and controversial legend. Maradona was football's ultimate genius - a magician on the pitch whose talent rivalled only Pelé.
But off the field, the boy from the barrios of Buenos Aires became entangled in a dark web of criminal influence and personal demons.
From the Cali Cartel's attempts to lure him into the drug trade, to the Camorra's grip on his life in Naples; from clashes with the Italian government to Pablo Escobar's sinister hospitality, Maradona's life was a battleground far beyond football. Battling addiction, betrayal, and exploitation, Maradona's story is one of genius corrupted - a man caught between adulation and self-destruction, whose medical neglect and FBI scrutiny culminated in a tragic end.
Marking the 40th anniversary of Argentina's legendary 1986 World Cup victory, Killing Maradona is a searing investigation into the forces that destroyed football's first 'Golden Boy.'
Ideal for readers who…
- Follow football history and want a darker account of Diego Maradona's life beyond the pitch.
- Read sports biographies exploring fame, addiction, exploitation and the pressures surrounding elite footballers.
- Are interested in true crime connections involving cartels, the Camorra and organised criminal influence in football.
- Want context around Argentina's 1986 World Cup triumph and Maradona's place in football history.
- Need a thoughtful gift for readers of football history, sporting biography and investigative non-fiction.
- About The Author
- David Arrowsmith was the Director of Development at leading UK factual TV producer Zig Zag Productions. He has worked in television for over 20 years - developing unscripted ideas and acting as Executive Producer on key projects for companies such as October Films, DSP, Channel 5, Granada Television, and the BBC. He is passionate about history, and just some of his key commissions include '1966: Who Stole the World Cup?', 'Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty', '8 Days That Made Rome', and 'Adolf & Eva: Love & War'. He was also involved in the development of the award-winning, Nobel Peace Prize-nominated documentary 'Sri Lanka's Killing Fields'.David was born and raised in London but is proudly half-Colombian. In fact, he is the great-grandson of a former president and directly descended from four more. He has played football for over 35 years and has no plans to stop just yet.
- Product Details
-
- ISBN
- 9781788406161
- Format
- Paperback
- Publisher
- Cassell, (21 May 2026)
- Number of Pages
- 304
- Weight
- 440 grams
- Language
- English
- Dimensions
- 232 x 152 x 28 mm
- Categories: