ROME: A gold and diamond earring that was confiscated from Argentina coach Diego Maradona to help pay a tax bill in Italy was sold to an anonymous woman at an auction for 25,000 euros (US$36,000) on Thursday.
ANONYMOUS BUYER: A diamond-studded gold earring belonging to Maradona is displayed after it was auctioned for 25,000 euros in Bolzano. — AFP photo
The price was released by a spokesman for the agency organising the sale in Bolzano, northern Italy which had expected a starting price of 4,000 euros.
The earring was taken by police while Maradona was in Italy at a weight-loss clinic in September.
The former football player owes the Italian inland revenue more than 30 million euros stemming from unpaid taxes when he played a starring role for Napoli between 1984 and 1991.
He helped the top Italian league club win the Serie A title in 1987 and 1990.
Italy has been seeking payments from the Argentinian since 2005 and pounces on him every time he returns to the country.
Three years ago police took two Rolex watches worth about 10,000 euros from Maradona during a visit to Naples for a charity match.
In 2005, tax authorities seized thousands of euros he earned for taking part in the Italian version of the television show ‘Dancing With The Stars’. Maradona, 49, was named Argentina coach in October 2008 after fighting off drug addiction, alcohol problems and obesity.
The appointment came following a turbulent career in which the volatile 1986 World Cup winner was thrown out of the 1994 World Cup for a doping offence, one of three such bans he received as a player. — Reuters