Auctioneer Sotheby’s said Wednesday that the jersey could fetch more than 4 million pounds ($5.2 million) in an online auction that opens April 20.
Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ shirt for sale with $5.2
Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles, said the shirt is ”on a small list of the most important sports memorabilia items in the world.”
”I’ll never get to handle anything this good again,” Wachter said. ”The moment is iconic in the history of sports.”
Maradona scored two goals during the quarter-final game in Mexico City on June 22, 1986, just four years after Britain and Argentina had fought a war over the Falkland Islands.
Maradona said afterward that it had been scored ”a little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God.”
Maradona’s second goal saw him dribble the ball past almost the entire English team before beating goalkeeper Peter Shilton.
Wachter said the two goals ”balance each other brilliantly” and reveal two facets of Maradona’s character.
The first ”was really cunning and did involve an element of luck,” he said.
Argentina won the match 2-1 and went on to win the World Cup.
After the game Maradona swapped shirts with England midfielder Steve Hodge, who never sold it, until now. For the past 20 years, it has been on loan to England’s National Football Museum in Manchester.
The blue shirt with stripes of lighter blue was a one-off, hastily assembled because the tops Argentina’s team planned to wear were judged too heavy for the Mexico City heat.
Hodge said he had been a ”proud owner” of a shirt that ”has deep cultural meaning to the football world, the people of Argentina, and the people of England.” According to Wachter, Hodge had decided ”that the time is just right” to sell.
Prices for sports memorabilia have soared in recent years. A buyer paid $8.8 million for the manifesto that launched the modern Olympic movement, a record for a sports item.
The shirt will be on display in Sotheby’s London showroom during the April 20-May 4 bidding period. (AP)
