According to Paolo Sorrentino, it was Alfonso Cuarón's Roma (2018), which was based on Cuaron's childhood in Mexico City, that gave Sorrentino permission to commit his own experience to film. For Sorrentino realized that "a personal, private film could tell a universal story."
Paolo Sorrentino has said he has one regret over the film: that the source of his inspiration, Diego Maradona himself, didn't stick around to appreciate it. Maradona died one month after the shoot on the film before Sorrentino had a chance to reach the footballer and talk things through. However, when Sorrentino won the Best International Film Oscar for La gran belleza (2013), Maradona was one of the inspirations he thanked.
Paolo Sorrentino spent years gathering memories about his family, friends and parents before writing the screenplay in his typical process: very fast, taking not longer than two weeks, using the notes on the facts, ideas and characters, and possible dialogues that took years to accumulate.
In July 2020, a lawyer for Diego Maradona stated he was exploring legal action against the film for its title, as it is a reference to Maradona's 1986 FIFA World Cup goal against England, and use of Maradona's image was not authorized. Netflix responded that the film is not a sports film or about Maradona and instead a personal story inspired by Paolo Sorrentino's youth.
The Monaciello, meaning "little Monk" in Neapolitan, is a fairytale of the tradition of Naples, Italy. He is usually depicted as a short thick kind of little man, dressed in the long garments of a monk with a broad brimmed hat.