Diego Maradona

On 20 October 1976, Maradona made his professional debut with Argentinos Juniors, ten days before his sixteenth birthday.^[18] He played there between 1976 and 1981, scoring 115 goals in 167 appearances before his £1m transfer to Boca Juniors. Having joined the Boca squad midway through the 1981 season, Maradona played through 1982 earning his first league championship medal. Whilst playing for Argentinos Juniors, English club Sheffield United put in an offer of £180,000 for his services but the bid was rejected.

Barcelona

After the 1982 World Cup, in June, Maradona was transferred to FC Barcelona in Spain for a then world record £5m.^[18] In 1983, under coach César Luis Menotti, Barcelona and Maradona won the Copa del Rey (Spain's annual national cup competition), beating Real Madrid, and the Spanish Super Cup, beating Athletic Bilbao. However, Maradona had a difficult tenure in Barcelona.^[19] First a bout with hepatitis, then a broken ankle caused by an ill-timed tackle by Athletic's Andoni Goikoetxea threatened with jeopardizing Maradona's career,^[18] but after treatment and therapy it was possible for him to soon be back on the pitch.

Maradona spent two seasons at Barcelona

During his two injury-hit seasons at Barcelona, Maradona scored 38 goals in 58 games.^[20] At Barcelona, Maradona got into frequent disputes with the team's directors, especially club president Josep Lluís Núñez, culminating with a demand to be transferred out of Camp Nou in 1984. He was transferred to Napoli in Italy's Serie A for another record fee, £6.9m.

Napoli

Diego Maradona with Napoli in 1985.

At Napoli, Maradona reached the peak of his professional career. He quickly became an adored star among the club's fans, and in his time there he elevated the team to the most successful era in its history. Led by Maradona, Napoli won their only Serie A Italian Championships in 1986/87 and 1989/1990, placing second in the league twice, in 1987/88 and 1988/89. Other honors during the Maradona era at Napoli included the Coppa Italia in 1987, (second place in the Coppa Italia in 1989), the UEFA Cup in 1989 and the Italian Supercup in 1990. Maradona was the top scorer in Serie A in 1987/88.
During his time in Italy, Maradona's personal problems increased. His cocaine use continued, and he received US $70,000 in fines from his club for missing games and practices, ostensibly because of 'stress'.^[21] He faced a scandal there regarding an illegitimate son; and he was also the object of some suspicion over an alleged friendship with the Camorra.^{[22][23][24][25][26]}
Later on, in honor of Maradona and his achievements during his career at Napoli, the #10 jersey of Napoli was officially retired.^[27]