Argentine
\nSoccer legend Diego Maradona may have scored two of the world\u2019s most famous goals in 1986, but it\u2019s his opponent who just became almost $9.3 million richer because of the feat.
\nSteve Hodge, a retired English midfielder who played against Maradona in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals, has sold his Argentine counterpart\u2019s jersey for $9.28 million in an auction held by Sotheby\u2019s, the auction house announced Wednesday.
\nKnown as the \u201cHand of God\u201d jersey, it has been held on display at the National Football Museum in Manchester for the last 20 years. According to Sotheby\u2019s, the jersey is believed to be the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold.
\nThe jersey is a reminder of Maradona\u2019s infamous goal against England, in which he scored using his left hand, giving Argentina a 1-0 lead because the referee didn\u2019t have a clear view of the play.
\nMinutes later, he made what is widely regarded as the greatest soccer play of the 20th century, dribbling past five English players \u2014 including Hodge \u2014 before sending the ball past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
\nWhen asked about the first goal, Maradona was famously quoted as saying it was due to \u201ca little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God.\u201d
\nArgentina ended up winning the match with a score of 2-1. In the stadium tunnel after the game, Maradona swapped jerseys with Hodge, who has held ownership of the \u201cHand of God\u201d shirt ever since.
\n\u201cThe Hand of God shirt has deep cultural meaning to the football world, the people of Argentina, and the people of England, and I\u2019m certain that the new owner will have immense pride in owning the world\u2019s most iconic football shirt,\u201d Hodge said in a news release from Sotheby\u2019s. The auction house did not identify the jersey\u2019s buyer.
\nThe \u201cHand of God\u201d game\u2019s cultural significance has gone beyond sport: the match has also been seen as a symbolic act of revenge for Argentina after it lost the Falklands War against the UK.
\nMaradona, who died of heart failure in 2020, once said of the match: \u201cIt was more than beating a football team, it was beating a whole country.\u201d
\nHowever, there\u2019s been some dispute over whether the shirt is the correct one.
\nDalma Maradona, the eldest of the soccer player\u2019s three daughters, said her father had changed jerseys at half-time because of the heat on the pitch and that Hodge had received the shirt Maradona used in the first half of the game.
\n\u201cHe has the first-half top. I wanted to explain that to people so that whoever wants to buy it knows the truth,\u201d she told Radio Metro in April.
\nSotheby\u2019s told Insider\u2019s Barnaby Lane that Dalma\u2019s claim was false.
\n\u201cPrior to putting this shirt for sale, we did extensive diligence and scientific research on the item to make sure it was the shirt worn by Maradona in the second half for the two goals,\u201d said Melica Khansari, Sotheby\u2019s deputy director of communications.
\nThe sale of Maradona\u2019s jersey has trumped the price of the Olympic Games\u2019 original manifesto, which sold for $8.8 million in 2019, according to Sotheby\u2019s. The previous price record for a game-worn shirt was set by Babe Ruth\u2019s Yankees road jersey, which sold for $5.64 million in 2019, per the auction house.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Argentine Soccer legend Diego Maradona may have scored two of the world\u2019s most famous goals in 1986, but it\u2019s his opponent who just became almost $9.3 million richer because of the feat. Steve Hodge, a retired English midfielder who played against Maradona in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals, has sold his Argentine counterpart\u2019s jersey for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258827,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-258796","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n