Razeen Gutta
The shirt worn by the legendary Argentine Diego Maradona on the occasion of the 1986 FIFA World Cup quarter-final against England has sold at auction for R140 million.
The shirt went on sale at Sotheby’s this afternoon after spending the last two decades on display at the National Football Museum in Manchester.
The final purchase price was £7,142,500 (the equivalent of R140 million), a record fee for any item of sports memorabilia in history.
The late great scored the infamous “Hand of God” goal on the night after former Nottingham Forest midfielder Steve Hodge flicked the ball into his path.
Maradona “handed” the ball home to knock England out in dramatic circumstances.
Hodge has owned Maradona’s jersey from that night ever since after swapping shirts with the Argentine number 10 and after loaning it to the National Football Museum, the former Three Lions star this year decided to sell.
An Argentinian delegation, consisting of Maradona’s family, a private firm and the country’s football association (AFA) are reported to have arrived in London in an attempt to buy back the shirt.
The winner of the auction is unknown at this time. However, according to the Daily Mail, the AFA were not pleased with the decision to proceed with the auction.
“He is selling something that belongs to Maradona and the AFA without authorisation.
“It should be in Argentina in order all Argentines can enjoy it, and not for a millionaire to display it in his closet,” a member of the delegation said.
Image source: @TheIndependent
