£17m tax blow for Maradona

Diego Maradona today denied he owed £17 million to the Italian tax authorities after being met by financial police on his arrival in Rome.

Eyewitnesses said Maradona, who led Argentina to their second World Cup triumph in 1986, was escorted to police offices at Rome airport by 20 policemen after he disembarked from a flight from Buenos Aires.

Maradona, who is in Italy to take part in television programmes and receive prizes for his career achievements, signed documents notifying him about the unpaid taxes and left the airport.

But Maradona said: "It is a big lie. I am calm and I want to reassure my mother, my daughters and the Argentine people."

Maradona played for Italy's Napoli for six years from 1986, transforming the troubled team into double Serie A winners.

During his visit, Maradona will meet Napoli officials to discuss his possible return as a member of the club's technical staff.

He was handed a 15-month suspension from worldwide football for doping in 1991 but was recently voted the 20th Century's greatest footballer in a FIFA Internet poll.