Tottenham have something of a history when it comes to ‘nearly’ signing players.
Ever since ENIC’s takeover over 15 years ago, the Lilywhites have been linked with a host of audacious moves for big-name players.
However, it appears that this is a trend which predates Daniel Levy.
Former Spurs striker Teddy Sheringham has revealed on an episode of Stadium Astro, brought to our attention by the Mirror, that the club were once genuinely considering buying Diego Maradona.
Spurs fans, be warned, this might make painful reading.
According to Sheringham, when Argentine Ossie Ardiles was in charge, he had his sights set on his compatriot, Maradona.
“I got on really well with Ossie, and I think I was the captain at the time, and Ossie came to me one day and said ‘I want your opinion, I’m thinking about signing someone’,” said Sheringham.
“And I was like ‘go on’ and he was like ‘Diego Maradona’, and I went ‘Ossie, Ossie, really!? Are you?’ I went ‘do, just do it’.
“He said ‘I’m in talks with him at the moment’ and I was like ‘my god, do it, it would be brilliant to play with him’.
Obviously, this is a deal that never materialised. What may come as a surprise, though, is that it was Tottenham, and not Maradona, who pulled out of the deal.
“So he (Ardiles) came to me about three days later and was like ‘I’ve decided not to sign Diego, he’s got too much baggage around him’,” Sheringham added.
Devastating as it may be, Ardiles did at least rectify the situation by signing Jurgen Klinsmann, another club legend, instead.
Klinsmann was by then a World Cup winner, whereas Maradona was reaching the end of his career. It would have been fantastic to see the icon playing in England nonetheless.
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