Diego Maradona’s 'Hand of God' Shirt To Be Auctioned Soon [Details]

Diego Maradona’s Argentina shirt, which he wore during his infamous "Hand of God" goal against England at the 1986 World Cup is set to be auctioned.

The historic blue away shirt is currently owned by former England midfielder Steve Hodge. He had swapped his shirt with Maradona after the Three Lions’ 2-1 loss to Argentina at the 1986 World Cup.

The iconic shirt is expected to fetch more than $5.2 million, according to BBC Sport.

After Maradona died in November 2020, Hodge said the shirt was not for sale. In December that year Hodge said he had "people knocking on my door non-stop," and the reports suggesting that he was looking to sell the shirt were false.

"I find it disrespectful and totally wrong. It's not for sale. I am not trying to sell it," Hodge, who represented England 24 times, had said at the time.

Hodge loaned the shirt to the National Football Museum, where it has been kept for 20 years. It will now be auctioned at Sotheby's in London with bidding open from April 20 to May 4.

The current record price for a shirt worn during a game is held by New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth's baseball jersey, which was sold for $5.6m in 2019, according to Sotheby’s.

Maradona scored two of the most extraordinary goals in the history of soccer in the quarter-final tie against England. Maradona netted the first goal – famously known as "The Hand of God" during the second half of the quarter-final. The Argentinian legend scored the goal with his hand. Since it all happened so fast, he managed to fool the referees with a convincing celebration.

"I told them [to his teammates], 'Come hug me, or the referee isn’t going to allow it'," Maradona said in an interview, according to Sotheby’s catalog note.

Maradona is extensively known as one of the greatest soccer players ever to have graced the game. He played a huge role in Argentina’s World Cup triumph in 1986 in Mexico, which remains the country’s only World Cup title to date.

He had a decorated club career as well, where he represented Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Sevilla, Newell's Old Boys and Napoli. It was his run at the Serie A club that established him as one of the best players of his generation.

Maradona captained Napoli to their first-ever Italian Serie A title in 1986-87 and followed it with a second in 1989-90. He also helped the Naples-based club to win the UEFA Cup, Coppa Italia, and Italian Super Cup.

A few days after Maradona’s death in 2020, Napoli officially renamed their home ground Stadio San Paolo to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as a tribute to one of their greatest captains.