Sotheby’s are to auction Diego Maradona’s 1986 World Cup shirt, worn during both the “The Hand of God” and “Goal of the Century” goals.
A dedicated online auction is to run from April 20 – May 4 and will be the first time the shirt will be available on the market. It is expected to fetch north of £4 million.
For the duration of the auction, the shirt will be placed on public view in Sotheby’s gallery on New Bond Street.
The shirt is presently owned by Steve Hodge – the England midfielder who inadvertently flicked the ball to Maradona for the infamous “Hand of God”. He asked Maradona to swap shirts after the game and the little magician obliged. I wonder what Maradona did with Hodge’s shirt…
Of now selling the shirt, Hodge says: “I have been the proud owner of this item for over 35 years, since Diego and I swapped shirts in the tunnel after the famed match. It was an absolute privilege to have played against one of the greatest and most magnificent football players of all time. It has also been a pleasure to share it with the public over the last 20 years at the National Football Museum, where it has been on display. The Hand of God shirt has deep cultural meaning to the football world, the people of Argentina, and the people of England and I’m certain that the new owner will have immense pride in owning the world’s most iconic football shirt.”
I quite like the idea of a wealthy, bitter English bloke buying it and burning it. Who knows, in today’s climate, they could probably take a picture of the shirt on fire and sell it as an NFT at a profit.
That really would be a shame though. The shirt is a thing of beauty, graced by the man who made the beautiful game look more beautiful than just about anyone else before or since.
