Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 5th. Sotheby’s auction house announced on the 4th that the shirt worn by the famous Argentine football player Diego Maradona when he scored a goal in the “Hand of God” was sold for 7.1425 million pounds (approximately 5955.60 pounds) that day. RMB 10,000) was sold, setting a record for the highest auction price of sports memorabilia so far.
The “life experience” of this blue jersey starts from the match between Argentina and England in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Mexico on June 22, 1986. Maradona, wearing this shirt, handed the ball into the England goal in the second half of the game, and the referee judged the goal to be valid. The goal was dubbed the “Hand of God”.
This is June 22, 1986, Argentina player Maradona (left) staged the “Hand of God” in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Mexico.Xinhua News Agency
Maradona then passed several people and scored again. Maradona’s second goal was named “Goal of the Century” in a 2002 FIFA vote.
In this game, Argentina finally defeated England 2:1. Participating England midfielder Steve Hodge exchanged jerseys with Maradona after the game. Maradona also confirmed in his autobiography the exchange of jerseys.
According to the Associated Press, Sotheby’s auction house began to auction the jersey online on April 20, and did not disclose the name of the buyer after the sale.
According to Agence France-Presse, Maradona’s daughter questioned that the jersey auctioned was another shirt that Maradona wore in the first half of the game. Sotheby’s auction house used photo comparison technology to identify the “unique details of different elements” on the jersey, such as badges, stripes and numbering, and determined that the lot was the jersey worn by Maradona when he scored twice.
This is June 29, 1986, Argentina’s 3-2 victory over West Germany in the World Cup final in Mexico, Maradona (top) celebrates with the Hercules Cup.Xinhua News Agency
Bram Wachter, head of streetwear and modern collectibles at Sotheby’s, said: “This historic jersey is not only a tangible reminder of a moment in sports history, it is also a reference to the history of the 20th century. in this way.”
The sale of the jersey set a record for the highest auction price of a sports memorabilia to date.
The previous highest price for a sports memorabilia was the original manuscript of the 1892 Olympic Manifesto written by Pierre Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympics, which sold in 2019 for $8.8 million. A New York Yankees jersey worn by American baseball legend Babe Ruth during his lifetime was auctioned for about $5.64 million in 2019, making it the highest-priced jersey before.
Maradona was born on October 30, 1960 in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. He changed his destiny through football and became a world football legend. On November 25, 2020, Maradona died of acute heart failure at the age of 60. (Wang Yijun)