The auction of a legendary shirt of the late Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona started at the London auction house Sotheby’s on Wednesday.
the essentials in brief
- 4.8 million euros offered after just a few hours.
An initial bid of £4 million (around €4.8 million) was received just hours after the online auction opened.
That would be a record price for a football shirt. The previous record for a sports jersey is $5.6 million, set in 2019 for a shirt worn by baseball legend Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees in the 1920s.
Maradona wore the jersey on 22 June 1986 in the quarter-finals against England at the World Cup in Mexico and scored two goals in it that went down in history. In the 51st minute, the striker handed the ball into the opponent’s goal. Maradona later said that the “hand of God” helped him.
Just four minutes after the controversial goal, Maradona scored a dream goal when he dribbled around half the England team from his own half and put the ball in on a superb solo run. The goal is considered the “goal of the century”. Argentina won the game 2-1 and later became world champions.
Maradona swapped shirts with England midfielder Steve Hodge at the end of the quarter-finals game. He loaned it to the National Football Museum in Manchester, where it has been on display for the past 20 years.
Diego Maradona died on November 25, 2020. His daughter expressed doubts as to whether the right jersey was being auctioned off at the online auction. The Argentine team captain only wore the jersey offered by Sotheby’s in the first half. Sotheby’s emphasizes that it has the “right” jersey.
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