The shirt, which was worn by Diego Maradona during his country’s historic 2-1 win against England during the 1986 World Cup, was auctioned by former British international Steve Hodge.
The unbelievable amount was given by a group from Argentina made up of Maradona’s family, the Argentinian Football Federation and an independent firm, who hope to display the jersey in a football museum.
The sale was made during an online auction by Sotheby’s, far exceeding even the most optimistic estimates which had placed a price tag of 4 to 6 million British pounds on the shirt.
The shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored The Hand of God and Goal of the Century has sold at auction for $9.28M 😲
A new record for a match-worn sports jersey 💰 pic.twitter.com/45MvsajFd6
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 4, 2022
The previous owner, Steve Hodge, was also a participant of that iconic clash between the two nations. In fact, he was heavily criticised by his then-teammates about his decision to trade jerseys with the former greatest player in the world, as it was widely believed that the Argentina number 10 had cheated, using his head to score the goal that brought the two teams on level terms.
In the long run however, it appears that his decision paid off handsomely, with the auction smashing the previous record for the sale of a jersey worn by a player during a match which was held by New York Yankees star Babe Ruth, that went for about $5.64 million in 2019.
The 59-year-old had previously received numerous offers to sell the shirt after the passing of the Argentinian icon in 2020 but turned them all down.
