‘Hand of God’ shirt worn by Maradona sells for £7.1 M

Diego Maradona’s shirt from the 1986 World Cup, when he scored the ‘Hand of God’ goal and much-heralded ‘goal of the century,’ was sold for a world record £7.1 million.

It’s the most, a piece of sports memorabilia has ever sold for.

It was put up for auction by former England midfielder Steve Hodge 36 years after he switched it with Maradona following the historic quarter-final in Mexico.

Hodge stated that the shirt would not be sold after Maradona’s death in November 2020.

Hodge claimed in December of that year that “people were knocking on my door nonstop” and that rumors that he was trying to sell the shirt were untrue.

At that time, he said, “I think it rude and utterly inappropriate.”

“It isn’t available for purchase. I’m not attempting to resell it.”

An auction house Sotheby sold the shirt for more than its estimated value of £4 million to £6 million.

“This is perhaps the most desired football jersey to ever come to sale, and it is fitting that it now holds the auction record for any object of its kind,” Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles, said.

The previous record for the highest price paid for a garment worn at a sporting event was held by Babe Ruth’s baseball jersey, which sold for $5.6 million (£4.4 million) in 2019.

In the same year, the original Olympic manifesto, written in 1892, was sold for $8.8 million (about £7 million), making it the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia ever sold.

Hodge, the 59-year-old midfielder who played for Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Leeds United, and Tottenham Hotspur and won 24 caps for England, had owned the iconic blue Argentina away shirt since swapping it with Maradona in the tunnel at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City after Argentina’s 2-1 victory.

Since Sotheby’s in London put the garment up for auction in April, there has been considerable uncertainty regarding it, with Maradona’s family claiming it was not the shirt he wore when he scored the historic ‘Hand of God’ goal.

The shirt, made by Le Coq Sportif, has been publicly displayed as the one worn by the Argentine great for the previous 36 years.

It was most recently on display at Manchester’s National Football Museum.

The shirt was matched to photographs of Maradona wearing it for both goals, according to Sotheby’s online listing.

Maradona’s two goals against England are among his most memorable goals, and he is largely recognized as one of football’s all-time greats.

Minutes later, he scored the controversial first goal of the second half by punching the ball past goalkeeper Peter Shilton, which was eventually chosen the goal of the century in a survey by football’s world governing body Fifa.

Maradona went on to lead his side to victory in the final, defeating West Germany 3-2.