Top 5 signings by Serie A clubs in history

#2 Diego Maradona, Napoli

Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona is considered as one of the greatest players of all time and for some the greatest of all time, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that when he signed for Napoli from Barcelona 75,000 fans welcomed him. A world record at that time for the unveiling of a player until Cristiano Ronaldo was unveiled at Bernabeu.

Prior to his arrival, the Italian football was dominated by the likes of Juventus and AC Milan and Napoli fans saw the arrival of Maradona as their time to conquer Italy and Maradona didn't disappoint.

At Napoli, Maradona reached the peak of his footballing career as he leads Napoli to the most successful era in their history and became a fan favourite. He helped them to their first ever league title in the 1986-87 season which led to wild celebrations in Naples with Maradona's murals being made on city's buildings and children being named in his honour.

Napoli won their second league title in 1989-90 and finished runners-up in 1987-88 and 1988-89, apart from this Maradona also helped them to win Coppa Italia in 1987, UEFA Cup in 1989 and Italian Supercup in 1990. Despite playing as an attacking midfielder, Maradona finished as the top scorer in Serie A in the 1987-88 season and was the highest goalscorer in Napoli's history with 115 goals until Hamsik broke that record in 2017.

Maradona started having personal issues towards the end of his spell at the club with increasing drug use and his off-the-field relationships, he finally left the club in 1991 with an indelible mark on Napoli's history. Later, Napoli officially retired his number 10 jersey in honour of his achievements at the club.