The story of the day all 3 Maradona brothers played for Granada

In the autumn of 1987, Granada CF president Alfonso Suarez decided to make a statement – and it was to be bold and brash.

Granada had been promoted from the third to the second tier of Spanish football the previous season, but for Suarez that was not enough. He wanted fame, notoriety.

In the late 80s, there was one surefire way to achieve that. Sign the most famous name in football: Maradona.

Diego had won the World Cup a year prior and had followed that up with a domestic league and cup double for Napoli. He was, then, out of reach for a side in the Segunda Division.

But that did not deter Suarez (or another second-tier side at the time, Leeds United). With Diego off-limits, he opted for Raul, better known as ‘Lalo’, the second of three Maradona brothers and six years Diego’s junior.

The signing, first and foremost, was designed to attract attention. But there was hope that Lalo would be able to genuinely produce with the ball at his feet.

He was 20 at the time and had made a handful of substitute appearances for Diego’s old club Boca Juniors as well as turning out for Argentina’s Under-17 national team a few years prior. He did not have the powerful physique of Diego but reports say that he had a fine left foot.

Before Lalo’s Boca debut, Diego had even said in the Argentinian press that Lalo was “the best of the three”. That sort of talk and the name he carried made Lalo valuable.

When he arrived, Granada claimed to have paid 25 million Spanish pesetas (around €120,000 today) to Boca for his signature. Some reports suggested it might have been as much as triple that. Though nothing was ever confirmed by the involved parties, Diego was said to have met Suarez and stipulated that Lalo must be given a place in the team as a condition of him signing.

The agreement, if true, was not without recompense. As a result of Lalo’s transfer to Andalusia, Diego would play a friendly for Granada.

It was a huge coup for a relatively small club. The match was set for November. As well as Lalo and Diego, it would feature the youngest of the three male siblings, Hugo. Just 18 at the time, Hugo was also trying to make his way in the game and was contracted to Ascoli in Italy’s Serie B.

For some reason, the opponents Granada decided upon were Swedish side Malmo, who had won three consecutive Allsvenskan titles under the tutelage of Roy Hodgson.

“Malmo FF, during an international break, were asked to take a team to Granada – a second division…