The shirt that Diego Maradona wore in the game between Argentina and England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup was sold for a record bid of 7,142,500 pounds (R$ 44.8 million), the auction house said on Wednesday. Sotheby’s.
The auction, which started on April 20 and until the beginning of this Wednesday (4) had only received an offer of almost US$ 5 million (R$ 24.9 million), had a considerable increase in demand in the last minutes before its closure. So far the name of the buyer is not known.
It surpassed what was the record price for a sporting goods at auction. In December 2019, Sotheby’s itself sold the original 1892 Olympic Manifesto for US$8 million (R$40.1 million).
“This historic jersey is a tangible reminder of an important moment not only in the history of the sport but also in the history of the 20th century,” the auction house said in a statement.
In the weeks that the object remained on display in London, Sotheby’s said it was “flooded” by “excitement and enthusiasm from sports fans and collectors”. “Without a doubt, it’s the most coveted shirt ever up for auction, and it now holds the record for such items.”
The item remained for 35 years with former English midfielder Steve Hodge, who changed shirts with Maradona at the end of the match, as the Argentine himself recalled in his autobiography “Tocado por Dios”.
Part of Maradona’s family claims that the shirt is not the one used by the ace when he scored the two goals against England (the famous “Mano de Dios” goal, made by hand, and what is considered the most beautiful in history of Hearts, with straight dribbles), but the one he used in the first half, despite repeated assurances from Sotheby’s.
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