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Killing Maradona: How cocaine, the Camorra, cartels and crime corrupted football's greatest talent
Drugs, cartels, mafia, addiction, the FBI, and coercion - this is the untold story behind the tragic decline of football's most gifted and controversial legend.
Maradona was football's ultimate genius - a magician on the pitch whose talent rivalled only Pelé. But off the field, the boy from the barrios of Buenos Aires became entangled in a dark web of criminal influence and personal demons. From the Cali Cartel's attempts to lure him into the drug trade, to the Camorra's grip on his life in Naples; from clashes with the Italian government to Pablo Escobar's sinister hospitality, Maradona's life was a battleground far beyond football.
Battling addiction, betrayal, and exploitation, Maradona's story is one of genius corrupted - a man caught between adulation and self-destruction, whose medical neglect and FBI scrutiny culminated in a tragic end. Marking the 40th anniversary of Argentina's legendary 1986 World Cup victory, Killing Maradona is a searing investigation into the forces that destroyed football's first 'Golden Boy.'
Maradona was football's ultimate genius - a magician on the pitch whose talent rivalled only Pelé. But off the field, the boy from the barrios of Buenos Aires became entangled in a dark web of criminal influence and personal demons. From the Cali Cartel's attempts to lure him into the drug trade, to the Camorra's grip on his life in Naples; from clashes with the Italian government to Pablo Escobar's sinister hospitality, Maradona's life was a battleground far beyond football.
Battling addiction, betrayal, and exploitation, Maradona's story is one of genius corrupted - a man caught between adulation and self-destruction, whose medical neglect and FBI scrutiny culminated in a tragic end. Marking the 40th anniversary of Argentina's legendary 1986 World Cup victory, Killing Maradona is a searing investigation into the forces that destroyed football's first 'Golden Boy.'
312 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 21, 2026
About the author
David Arrowsmith
6 books72 followersAuthor of Killing Maradona : How Cocaine, the Camorra and Crime Corrupted Football's Greatest Talent (2026) & Narcoball: Love, Death and Football in Escobar’s Colombia (2024).
Also a writer of fiction.
Also a writer of fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 29, 2026
I never write reviews and I really enjoyed the story of Diego’s life, however there is one thing about the way this book is written that bugged me so much I just need to get it out!
The story of Diego Maradona is so fascinating. If you didn’t already know he was a real person you would think it’s fiction. What a crazy character, with so many twists and turns his life takes.
The way the story is told really bothered me however. The chapters often didn’t follow the story in a chronological order. For example a chapter would end and then the next chapter would start and he would be playing a game for a new team. I was like “what, he’s playing for them now?” and then the chapter would proceed to tell the story of how he ended up there.
Diego’s life was never straightforward and there was always twists and turns in everything he did, therefore the tales told in some chapters felt ruined by the fact you already know how it’s going to turn out. It felt like constant spoilers and I don’t understand why the story would be told like that.
I would’ve been much more engaged in the book and the story if it always followed the order the events happened.
Also there was one glaring error when River Plate was referred to as his former club, which he never played for and was the rival club to his.
The story of Diego Maradona is so fascinating. If you didn’t already know he was a real person you would think it’s fiction. What a crazy character, with so many twists and turns his life takes.
The way the story is told really bothered me however. The chapters often didn’t follow the story in a chronological order. For example a chapter would end and then the next chapter would start and he would be playing a game for a new team. I was like “what, he’s playing for them now?” and then the chapter would proceed to tell the story of how he ended up there.
Diego’s life was never straightforward and there was always twists and turns in everything he did, therefore the tales told in some chapters felt ruined by the fact you already know how it’s going to turn out. It felt like constant spoilers and I don’t understand why the story would be told like that.
I would’ve been much more engaged in the book and the story if it always followed the order the events happened.
Also there was one glaring error when River Plate was referred to as his former club, which he never played for and was the rival club to his.
July 13, 2026
This is a magnificent ‘warts and all’ biography of Maradona, el Pibe de Oro (the golden boy) that runs through the highs and lows of a man who lived to excess. It is clearly written with some affection for the man, who is still adored by so many, yet remains entirely objective, explaining his predicaments and actions but never excusing them. The tone is paternalistic, not exactly forgiving but unable to entirely cut off a wayward son.
Drowning neatly bookends this narrative. The first being when toddler Diego falls into a communal cesspit in his impoverished neighbourhood of Lanús (Buenos Aires) but is fished out before his head is completely submerged. A close shave with death and perhaps a colourful metaphor for some of what is to come. The end when it comes is lonely and agonising, acute pulmonary oedema, heart failure and drowning with the fluid in his lungs. He was only sixty, but for many of those years his body was abused with, painkillers, cocaine, alcohol and excessive eating, in particular barbecued red meat.
As the author points out, there were two parts to his character, Diego the man and Maradona the image. Diego the man was the natural footballing free spirit, who went from needing help with his bus fare just so he could play as a child, to the pinnacle of world football, dragging his family out of poverty along the way. A man who never forgot his roots, the impoverished and downtrodden, who would play in many money raising friendlies for good causes. There are so many on pitch highlights, not least the 1986 World Cup quarter final against England, the infamous ‘hand of God’ followed a few minutes later by the ‘goal of the century’ which of course is covered in detail.
Not all was plain sailing though as football was brutal in those days, compared to the modern game. If teams couldn’t beat him with skill, they would kick him off the park. His desire to play and the insistence of those around him with a vested interest led to a life on painkillers and many injections, far more than safe or ethical, just to play. The footballing side is a joy to read, though the decline is evident.
The Maradona side is salacious, with the air of a Shakespearian tragedy at times, as excesses eat the man up. A great many hangers on and those with a vested interest are certainly culpable, Diego was a naïve man, but he cannot be absolved from guilt. He was on a road to self-destruction, even before he was introduced to the camorra in Naples, but from that point he was in overdrive. This side of the man could be a case study in how not to handle fame. Some of the shocking and surprising incidents on the sad downward arc of his career must be read to be believed.
Honest and respectful account of a footballing genius destroyed by the Beautiful Game.
Drowning neatly bookends this narrative. The first being when toddler Diego falls into a communal cesspit in his impoverished neighbourhood of Lanús (Buenos Aires) but is fished out before his head is completely submerged. A close shave with death and perhaps a colourful metaphor for some of what is to come. The end when it comes is lonely and agonising, acute pulmonary oedema, heart failure and drowning with the fluid in his lungs. He was only sixty, but for many of those years his body was abused with, painkillers, cocaine, alcohol and excessive eating, in particular barbecued red meat.
As the author points out, there were two parts to his character, Diego the man and Maradona the image. Diego the man was the natural footballing free spirit, who went from needing help with his bus fare just so he could play as a child, to the pinnacle of world football, dragging his family out of poverty along the way. A man who never forgot his roots, the impoverished and downtrodden, who would play in many money raising friendlies for good causes. There are so many on pitch highlights, not least the 1986 World Cup quarter final against England, the infamous ‘hand of God’ followed a few minutes later by the ‘goal of the century’ which of course is covered in detail.
Not all was plain sailing though as football was brutal in those days, compared to the modern game. If teams couldn’t beat him with skill, they would kick him off the park. His desire to play and the insistence of those around him with a vested interest led to a life on painkillers and many injections, far more than safe or ethical, just to play. The footballing side is a joy to read, though the decline is evident.
The Maradona side is salacious, with the air of a Shakespearian tragedy at times, as excesses eat the man up. A great many hangers on and those with a vested interest are certainly culpable, Diego was a naïve man, but he cannot be absolved from guilt. He was on a road to self-destruction, even before he was introduced to the camorra in Naples, but from that point he was in overdrive. This side of the man could be a case study in how not to handle fame. Some of the shocking and surprising incidents on the sad downward arc of his career must be read to be believed.
Honest and respectful account of a footballing genius destroyed by the Beautiful Game.
August 17, 2026
Wow.
While I was aware of some of the problems Maradona had throughout his career, both regarding his health and life of the pitch in general, I didn't know it was this complicated. From almost dying as a small kid, to being in bed with both Italian mafia and Latin drug cartels. When someone dies at the age of 60 and looks like Maradona did for the last 10 years of his life, anyone can understand that he lived a tough life. For some they might think he made all the choices himself, only having himself to blame for the addictions and troubles he got himself into. But there is another story behind this, as David Arrowsmith also points out. Everyone wanted a piece of Maradona, and when there is nowhere to hide from all the chaos, I can understand how it all unraveled.
Maradona only wanted to play football and be the best, for everything else he seemingly put trust into the people surrounding him, and some of them didn't have his best interest at heart. They only saw the product Maradona, and all the possible deals they could make, to gain as much revenue as possible. And Maradona, maybe a bit naive, went along with it. Maybe, in a world where love and compassion was at the forefront, he would still be alive, playing at the top level for longer, becoming an even bigger legend. But one could never be certain. Maybe his lust for women and drugs was connected to his lust for becoming the greatest in the world.
While I was aware of some of the problems Maradona had throughout his career, both regarding his health and life of the pitch in general, I didn't know it was this complicated. From almost dying as a small kid, to being in bed with both Italian mafia and Latin drug cartels. When someone dies at the age of 60 and looks like Maradona did for the last 10 years of his life, anyone can understand that he lived a tough life. For some they might think he made all the choices himself, only having himself to blame for the addictions and troubles he got himself into. But there is another story behind this, as David Arrowsmith also points out. Everyone wanted a piece of Maradona, and when there is nowhere to hide from all the chaos, I can understand how it all unraveled.
Maradona only wanted to play football and be the best, for everything else he seemingly put trust into the people surrounding him, and some of them didn't have his best interest at heart. They only saw the product Maradona, and all the possible deals they could make, to gain as much revenue as possible. And Maradona, maybe a bit naive, went along with it. Maybe, in a world where love and compassion was at the forefront, he would still be alive, playing at the top level for longer, becoming an even bigger legend. But one could never be certain. Maybe his lust for women and drugs was connected to his lust for becoming the greatest in the world.
July 7, 2026
5 липня 1984 року на стадіон «Сан-Паоло» прийшли сімдесят п’ять тисяч людей. Не на матч. На презентацію. Один чоловік вийшов з тунелю в синьому шарфі, кілька разів підкинув м’яч і випустив у небо в’язку блакитних кульок. Трибуни ревли так, що сучасники описували це не як натовп, а як паству на службі. Неаполь, найбідніше і найзневаженіше місто Італії, яке багата північ десятиліттями вважала брудним непорозумінням, щойно купив собі бога. За £6,9 мільйона. Світовий рекорд.
Через тридцять шість років, 25 листопада 2020-го, той самий чоловік помер на ліжку в передмісті Буенос-Айреса. Шістдесят років, серце не витримало через два тижні після операції на мозку. Між цими двома датами вмістилося все: два чемпіонати світу, «рука Бога» і гол століття, перші в історії клубу скудетто, а ще кокаїн, клани Каморри, позитивні допінг-проби, втеча від поліції, операція зі шлункового шунтування, чотири роки на Кубі під опікою Фіделя Кастро і повільне фізичне руйнування людини, яку любили мільярди.
Через тридцять шість років, 25 листопада 2020-го, той самий чоловік помер на ліжку в передмісті Буенос-Айреса. Шістдесят років, серце не витримало через два тижні після операції на мозку. Між цими двома датами вмістилося все: два чемпіонати світу, «рука Бога» і гол століття, перші в історії клубу скудетто, а ще кокаїн, клани Каморри, позитивні допінг-проби, втеча від поліції, операція зі шлункового шунтування, чотири роки на Кубі під опікою Фіделя Кастро і повільне фізичне руйнування людини, яку любили мільярди.
August 19, 2026
Diego Maradona is comfortably the most superhuman sportsperson I’ve ever seen, and this book makes a fine case for him being the greatest because of the things and the people that undid and used him. Aside from the corny sensationalist twists typically applied to a biography, the consequence-less chapter about playing for Pablo Escobar and the Anglo-centric perspective that doesn’t leave the author who claims to be a proud half-Colombian, there is everything that enhances Diego’s stature. Even Steve Hodge and Ali Ben Nasser milked his name after his death to laugh all the way to their banks.
August 26, 2026
Very interesting to read about the life of Maradona making the book good however it wasn't particularly well written so I feel like other books on Maradona are likely to be better. There was many sentences which felt jumbled up jumping around from one to the next. Also each chapter seems to start with almost a summary of the chapter which basically explains what happens so it spoiled what was to come and almost made reading the full chapter irrelevant. It is still worth a read to find out about the life of Maradona however.
August 13, 2026
An overview of Maradonna’s life, specifically focusing on the great player he was on the pitch and the trouble person he was off it. How he was taken advantage of by those around him from a young age, his fitness issues and how he got into painkillers, drugs and alcohol which ultimately contributed to his death.
September 19, 2026
Great book although the jumps back and forth in his career can be somewhat confusing at times.
Whilst the book is careful not to judge Maradonna it does feel like some details are omitted sometimes to make less of his excesses and selfish greed induced behaviours.
Full of the details of his life however it’s an enjoyable listen which I would definitely recommend.
Whilst the book is careful not to judge Maradonna it does feel like some details are omitted sometimes to make less of his excesses and selfish greed induced behaviours.
Full of the details of his life however it’s an enjoyable listen which I would definitely recommend.
July 12, 2026
A powerful and big insight into the chaotic life of one of footballs greatest talents. Diego Armando Maradona, Live Is Life.
July 26, 2026
Biographies are just a bit boring aren’t they
July 28, 2026
There's plenty of Maradona books out there, but think this is perhaps the best I've read. Tells the Maradona tragic tale clearly and brilliantly with plenty of detail.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews