Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola once targeted by kidnappers – one of whom was an ex-Serie A star

CHELSEA legend Gianfranco Zola was once targeted by a gang of hardened criminals who wanted to kidnap him.

The startling revelation was made by former Serie A star Fabrizio Maiello, 56, who turned to a life of crime after his career was cut short by injury.

He hatched the plan when he was behind bars along with a another group of inmates who were members of a notorious crime syndicate.

But the plan failed after Maiello lost his nerve and instead asked Zola for his autograph after the gang followed him in two cars to an Italian petrol station.

At the time of the proposed abduction, in 1994, Zola – nicknamed the Magic Box – was a star for Parma, who were owned by billionaire businessman Callisto Tanzi.

Maiello said: “We had followed him to and from training for weeks. We had followed him all over the country.

“The idea was to have two cars ram into his and then bundle him away.

The plan was to get him there and then. We got out of our cars, but then he walked towards us smiling and I suddenly thought, ‘What am I doing?’

Fabrizio Maiello on Zola kidnap plot

“We would only hold him for two days – at that time, kidnapping was rife across Italy.

“We had followed him to a petrol station in two cars and he had stopped to fill up.

“The plan was to get him there and then. We got out of our cars, but then he walked towards us smiling and I suddenly thought, ‘What am I doing?’

“He actually came over to us and asked if we wanted his autograph. He was smiling and I just couldn’t go though with it.”

Maiello added: “We swapped a few words and I told him I was a big fan and in the end he actually autographed my identity card.

“As I handed him my ID he glanced down and saw my tattoo – a five pointed star which gave away I had been in prison; it’s a criminal sign you only do when you are inside.

“He quickly walked away and got back into his car and drove off – the other guys were saying ‘now, now, we have to do it’, but I said I couldn’t go through with it.”

Maiello, who was associated with the Magliana organised crime gang in Rome, later turned his back on crime and is now a gardener.