Izvestia signs Maradona to Spartak Moscow

APR 01 1988

On 1 April 1988 the Soviet newspaper Izvestia reported that Moscow Spartak was negotiating with Diego Maradona, then the world's most famous footballer, for a $6 million transfer within a year. It is a notable late-Soviet press April Fools' hoax, published as glasnost loosened editorial constraints.