Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” Jersey Sells for Collectible Record $8.9 Million
ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images. Pictured: Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” jersey.
There’s a new record for the highest price paid for a sports collectible.
The jersey worn by Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal game from his famous “Hand of God” goal has sold at Sotheby’s for $8.93 million. That mark broke the record for the price paid for the original Olympic Games manifesto from 1892, which was sold at Sotheby’s in 2019 for $8.8 million.
The previous highest price paid for a game-used jersey was a Babe Ruth jersey — $5.6 million.
The “Hand of God” goal — referred to as such because Maradona palmed the ball in England’s net — is universally seen as the most famous soccer goal of all time. Maradona’s Argentina went on to win the World Cup two games later.
If the jersey looks strange because of its barely attached Argentina patch or the weird numbering, it’s because it is. It was a one-off jersey created to be thinner than the cotton jerseys were in the sweltering heat.
“There’s a feeling of pride,” said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles. “We now have sold the highest priced game-used sneaker, shirt, jersey and all-time sports collectible.”
The jersey was consigned to Sotheby’s by former English midfielder Steve Hodge, who swapped jerseys with Maradona after the game.
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