The shirt Diego Maradona wore in
Argentina’s famous quarter-final victory over England in the 1986 World Cup became
the world’s most expensive piece of sporting memorabilia after selling for £7.1
million at auction on Wednesday.

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Auction house Sotheby’s had predicted a
price between £4m and £6m for the jersey, which was previously in the
possession of Maradona’s 1986 adversary of former England midfielder Steve
Hodge, who swapped his jersey with Maradona at the end of the match.

However, the base price of £4m was
reached within hours of the auction starting, and its final price marked a new
high in the sporting world.

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It is now both the most valuable
match-worn shirt, surpassing the amount paid in 2019 for an item once worn by
baseball legend Babe Ruth.

The previous highest fee paid for a shirt
worn during a sports match was held by New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth’s
baseball jersey, which sold for $5.6m (£4.4m) in 2019.

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In the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal, Maradona
equalised against England with his controversial hand of god goal which was
later adjudged “goal of the century” to send his country through.
Maradona said the first goal was made “a little with the head of Maradona,
and a little with the hand of God”.

It must be noted that former Nottingham
Forest star Hodge had unintentionally flicked the ball to the forward which led
to the first goal. Following Maradona’s death in November 2020, Hodge said the
shirt was not for sale. He had owned the shirt ever since the match although
for the last 20 years it had been on display at the National Football Museum in
Manchester.

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Brahm Wachter, head of streetwear and
modern collectables at Sotheby’s, who orchestrated the sale, said, “This
historic shirt is a tangible reminder of an important moment not only in the
history of sports, but in the history of the 20th century.