The sale of the shirt that Diego Maradona wore the day he went down in history with the two legendary goals scored against England in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, began this Wednesday with an offer of more than 5 million dollars.
Source: AFP
The sale, which takes place online, is open until May 4. The shirt, which was on display at the National Football Museum in Manchester, is currently on display at the London premises of Sotheby’s, which is organizing the auction.
A few hours after opening, a first offer of 4 million pounds ($5.2 million), Sotheby’s starting estimate, had been registered.
It will be a record prize for a soccer jersey at auction. The absolute record was set in 2019 ($5.6 million) by American baseball legend Babe Ruth’s uniform.
In 2002, a shirt worn by Brazilian star Pelé in the 1970 World Cup final in Mexico was bought for 157,750 pounds at Christie’s, the equivalent of 250,000 euros, a record at the time.
– The good shirt? –
The sale has a controversial taste. A part of the family of Diego Maradona, who died on November 25, 2020 at the age of 60, assured, despite repeated guarantees from Sotheby’s, that the auctioned shirt is not the one worn by the Argentine captain when he scored the two legendary goals against England in the second half of the quarterfinal match, but the one used in the first half.
Maradona exchanged the shirt at the end of the match with English midfielder Steve Hodge, who owned it for 35 years and lent it to the Manchester museum. The two players recounted the episode in their respective books.
These quarter-finals in Mexico, full of symbolism four years after the Malvinas war between England and Argentina, entered history and helped to underpin the controversial legend of Maradona. In the 51st minute, just after a clearance by Steve Hodge, the Argentine capital scored with his hand -“the hand of God” justified the player- but the goal was validated by the referee.
Just four minutes later, the Golden Boy scored an anthological goal, chosen as “the goal of the century” in a FIFA vote, leaving his field with the ball and getting rid of four English players and then goalkeeper Peter Shilton to finish with the ball at the back of the net.
Argentina then beat Belgium in the semifinals 2-0, with two new Maradona goals, and West Germany 3-2 in the final to win their second world title, eight years after winning their first World Cup at home.
