The day Napoli and Barcelona great Diego Maradona nearly joined Portsmouth

And it was a worldwide admiration for Maradona’s talents which resulted in the Argentinian superstar once lined up as Pompey’s global ambassador.

Sulaiman Al Fahim was a big-talking, Dubai-based businessman of debatable wealth who established himself as Blues owner in July 2009.

Within days of his arrival, it emerged Maradona would also be landing at Fratton Park to work closely with boss Paul Hart.

At the time, UAE-based website arabianbusiness.com claimed to have seen emails from lawyer Angel Oscar Moyano stating Maradona was to fill the role of global ambassador once the takeover was completed.

However, it instantly appeared highly unlikely considering he was already employed as manager of Argentina's national side.

The previous month, the then 48-year-old had actually penned a new contract worth an eye-watering $1.2m a year, taking him beyond the 2010 World Cup finals.

Nonetheless, Al Fahim was reportedly friends with Maradona and planned to open a Maradona Sports Cafe in the UAE in 2010.

What’s more, Pompey’s new chairman was said to be a close friend of Maradona’s cousin Remigio, with both men working for the UN as goodwill ambassadors.

And so the new Blues chairman’s first major statement was to bring the Napoli and Barcelona legend on board.

According to Moyano: 'He's (Maradona) got all top players ready and even he's ready to leave the Argentine national team.’

In addition, it was claimed Maradona wanted to help build a strong team ‘for which he offers his mediation for signing players of top level who with the support of Diego Armando Maradona, will be ready to come to Portsmouth FC.’

For whatever reason, the appointment was never made, with Maradona remaining as Argentina boss until July 2010.

His contract was not renewed after the team reached the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

As for Al Fahim, he left Fratton Park in October 2009 with so many promises unfulfilled.

The club was passed onto Ali Al Faraj, who fans dubbed a ‘mirage’ – just like Maradona coming to Pompey.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

The News has launched a new subscription offer which gives you unlimited access to all of our Pompey coverage, starting at less than £1 a week.

You can subscribe here to get the latest news and transfer updates from Fratton Park - and to support our local team of expert Pompey writers.