Maradona 'Hand Of God' Jersey Auction Breaks Record, Sold Rp128.6 Billion With Anonymous Buyer

Diego Maradona (Instagram @maradona)

JAKARTA - The shirt that Diego Maradona wore when he scored two of the most famous goals in football history sold for 7.14 million pounds (Rp128.6 billion) on Wednesday local time. This sale is a new auction record for a sporting memento.

Maradona wore Argentina's number 10 jersey in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England in Mexico. Six minutes into the second half, he put his team ahead by punching the ball into the net which became known as the 'Hand of God' goal.

Four minutes later Maradona dribbled from his own half to score a goal widely regarded as one of the greatest goals in World Cup history.

England midfielder Steve Hodge acquired the Maradona shirt after the game and last month announced he would auction it off after 19 years on display at the National Football Museum in England.

"This historic shirt is a vivid reminder of that important moment not only in the history of the sport, but also in the history of the 20th century," said Brahm Wachter, Head of Streetwear and Modern Collectables at auction agency Sotheby's. May 5th.

Sotheby's said the buyer was anonymous.

The auction breaks the previous record for sports memorabilia created by the original signature manuscript of the 1892 Olympic Manifesto which was valued at $8.8 million in 2019.

The sale of Maradona's shirt was complicated by claims that the wrong shirt would be sold in which his daughter and ex-wife said Hodge got the shirt Maradona was wearing in the first half of the match.

Sotheby's claims to have used photo-matching technology to "convincingly" match the shirt to Maradona's two goals by "checking the details of various elements of the item, including patches, stripes and numbering".

Maradona, considered one of the world's best footballers, died in November 2020 at the age of 60.