Jersey Diego Maradona wore for ‘Hand of God’ goal sells for record-setting $9.3 million
The auction house scored big with this one.
The jersey Diego Maradona was wearing when he scored arguably the two most iconic goals in soccer history sold Wednesday for $9.3 million.
The No. 10 Argentina shirt was worn by Maradona for his “Hand of God” goal and the “Goal of the Century” in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal match against England. Argentina won 2-1.
Whoever ponied up £7.1 million ($9.28 million) will remain anonymous, auction house Sotheby’s said. The sale price bested the previous sports memorabilia record of $8.8 million.
Maradona, who died in November 2020, swapped jerseys with England midfielder Steve Hodge after the match. Hodge maintained ownership of Maradona’s jersey for decades, claiming in 2020: “It’s not for sale. I am not trying to sell it.”
But Sotheby’s announced April 6 that the jersey was up for auction. The announcement included a statement from Hodge that “the new owner will have immense pride in owning the world’s most iconic football shirt.”
The authenticity of the jersey was questioned by Maradona’s family. But Maradona wrote in his own book that “On the way to the locker room, one of the English guys – it turned out to be Hodge, but I wasn’t sure at the time – asked me to swap jerseys with him. I said yes, and we did.” Sotheby’s said it did extensive background work to authenticate the jersey.
While wearing the jersey, Maradona famously scored on a deliberate handball to take a 1-0 lead against England. After the game, he said the goal was scored “a little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God.”
Less than five minutes later, he slalomed through half the England team and fired a shot into the back of the net to double Argentina’s advantage. A 2002 FIFA poll named the second goal the Goal of the Century. Argentina went on to win the World Cup.
The previous record auction price for a piece of sports memorabilia was the $8.8 million paid for the original Olympic manifesto in 2019. The old record for a jersey was $5.64 million for a Babe Ruth Yankees jersey.
“Whoever buys (Maradona’s jersey), it’ll probably never surface again,” Sotheby’s vice president Brahm Wachter told ESPN in April.
With News Wire Services
