The jersey Diego Maradona wore against England at the 1986 World Cup - synonymous with his brilliance in that tournament - sold for nearly $ 9.3 million at an online auction, breaking the sales record for a sports memoir.
The blue jersey was sold to an anonymous buyer for $ 9,284,536, said auction house Sotheby's.
The shirt had previously been in the possession of former England midfielder Steve Hodge, who traded it to Maradona after Argentina's 2-1 quarter-final victory. During the game, Hodge inadvertently threw the ball into the air for Maradona to score the infamous 'Hand of God' goal. A few minutes later, Maradona scored the "Goal of the Century", avoiding a range of England players and kicks.
"This historic t-shirt is a tangible memory of an important moment not only in the history of sport, but in the history of the 20th century," Brahm Wachter, Sotheby's Chief of Staff for Streeteear and Modern Collectables, said in a statement. "Ever since we announced the auction, we've been flooded with sports fans and collectors, and this unfiltered enthusiasm has echoed in the offer. of the auction for any object of its kind. "
According to Sotheby's, the previous auction record for a sports item was the original manuscript of the 1892 Olympic Manifesto, which sold for $ 8.8 million in December 2019.
