Micolli called his son Diego in honour of the Argentina legend

Palermo forward Fabrizio Miccoli has been revealed as the mystery buyer of an earring seized from Diego Maradona as part payment for his tax arrears.

The piece of jewellery was taken by police while the Argentina head coach was attending a weight-loss clinic in the country back in September 2009.

Maradona owes more than 30m euros (£26.5m) in unpaid taxes.

Miccoli, a huge fan of the Argentina legend, paid 25,000 euros (£22,048) for the earring at auction in January.

The former Italy international was asked if he will return the piece of jewellery to Maradona and told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "He knows that I have it. It'll be difficult to meet him now, but we'll see each other soon.

"I called my son Diego in his honour."

Maradona played in Serie A for Napoli between 1984 and 1991, helping them to win the Serie A title in 1987 and 1990 and the Uefa Cup in 1989.

Italian officials have been seeking payments from the Argentinian since 2005 and three years ago police seized two Rolex watches worth in the region of 10,000 euros (£8,800) from Maradona when he visited Naples for a charity match.

Maradona's earring was sold for five times its asking price in January

In 2005 tax authorities in the country seized thousands of euros he earned for taking part in the Italian version of the television show "Dancing With The Stars".

Maradona is regarded as one of the best players in the sport's history, leading Argentina to the World Cup in 1986, but the 49-year-old suffered with drug addiction and serious health problems after hanging up his boots.

An iconic figure in Argentina, Maradona was named as Alfio Basile's successor as head coach of the national side in November 2008 and managed to reach June's World Cup despite inconsistent form and a large turnover of players during qualification.

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