Argentine legend, Diego Maradona, had ties with a number of European Heavyweights. Maradona played for the likes of Sevilla and Barcelona, but the club he had the closest ties with, was undoubtedly Napoli.
During his 7 year stint at the Partenopei, the Argentine netted 81 times in 188 appearances for the Serie A club and cemented his legacy as the greatest player to don the blue of Napoli. Perhaps it is only fitting that ‘El Pibe De Oro’s tragic demise in 2020 affected Napoli faithful deeply, almost as much as it did his countrymen. The Stadio San Pablo was officially renamed as the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, and a host of tributes by players for the Legendary Argentine followed.
There certainly is no debating just how interlinked Maradona’s legacy and Napoli are, but recently, the Italian club have been rather overzealous in their attempts at honouring the Argentine.
And their efforts have rubbed some fans the wrong way, with many accusing the club of having profit-driven motives rather than noble ones.
These claims came after Napoli announced the 4th variation of the EA7 Maradona jersey. The originals were revealed back in November and released in 3 different colourways. The jersey itself takes inspiration from artwork by Napolitan artist Guiseppe Klain and displays a portrait of Maradona.
Priced at an exorbitant €150, the latest variation has been dubbed as the ‘Maradona Rossa’, with the only alteration being a splash of Red.
As it was their 4th Maradona themed kit, users online looked to be fairly displeased with the announcement.
Napoli continue to shamelessly exploit the death of Maradona by releasing yet another “tribute” shirt.
— Kit Crimes ⚽️ (@KitCrimes) March 4, 2022
“A portion of the proceeds from sales will go to charities selected by the club,” they say. Just a portion then, not *all* the proceeds. Greedy immoral bastards. pic.twitter.com/B7CxGigdXQ
Napoli have been on a marketing run recently and have produced 13 different kits this season. Attaching a figure as iconic as Maradona to a kit is undoubtedly going to sell, and with this in mind, many online accused Napoli of ‘milking’ Maradona’s death.
Even if one refrains from being accusatory, creating 4 kits centred around a beloved individual within the same season certainly isn’t a good look, and is enough to sway opinion.
All of Napoli’s 13 kits released in 21-22 (so far…)
— Footy Headlines (@Footy_Headlines) March 3, 2022
📸 @LuchoLasS pic.twitter.com/PQTynkQKM5