In a world where vintage football shirts have become impossible to ignore, there is one shirt that stands above all the others. It is the most expensive football shirt ever sold. A shirt worn in one of the most iconic matches of all time, and worn by none other than 'El Pibe de Oro': Diego Armando Maradona.
The story began 40 years ago. On 5 July 1984, Maradona was unveiled as a Napoli player at the Stadio San Paolo (now known as the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona) in front of 75,000 spectators. Before Maradona joined Napoli, the club from Naples was facing the threat of relegation. At the same time, the rivalry between northern and southern Italy was stronger than ever. Back then, no club from southern Italy had ever won the Italian league. When Maradona was signed, he was therefore seen as a saviour. He quickly took over the captain's armband from Napoli defender Giuseppe Bruscolotti and became a fan favourite among the Neapolitan supporters.
Then the summer of 1986 arrived. After Maradona had guided Napoli to an impressive third-place finish, it was time for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, held in Mexico. Italy, the defending champions, and Brazil were considered the favourites to win the tournament. Argentina, however, were also seen as serious contenders thanks to Maradona's individual brilliance. Argentina were drawn in a group with Italy, Bulgaria and South Korea, with the top three teams progressing to the knockout stages.
Argentina's group stage campaign began with a match against South Korea. They won relatively comfortably, 3-1. What immediately stood out was that Maradona provided the assist for every single one of Argentina's goals. The first real test came in their second group match, when they faced title favourites Italy. The match ended 1-1, with Maradona scoring Argentina's only goal. Argentina's group stage campaign ended with a 2-0 victory over Bulgaria, in which Maradona provided the assist for the second goal. As a result, Argentina finished top of the group with five points.
Argentina's knockout stage campaign began with a last-16 match against their neighbours Uruguay. Argentina managed to win 1-0, securing their place in the quarter-finals against England. What was about to happen in this match was something even the greatest predictor could never have foreseen.
It was 22 June 1986. The legendary Estadio Azteca in Mexico City was the setting for the quarter-final between Argentina and England. No fewer than 114,580 people were in attendance to witness what would become one of the most legendary matches of all time. During the first half, both teams remained relatively cautious, knowing that conceding a goal could mean the end of their World Cup campaign. However, just four minutes into the second half, the spectacle suddenly exploded into life.
The second half had only been underway for five minutes when Maradona started a dribble through the English midfield. As he approached the defence, he played a one-two with Valdano. Steve Hodge, an English midfielder, managed to intercept the ball, but played it back through the air towards England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. Peter Shilton came off his line to punch the ball clear, when suddenly, just before it reached his hands, someone knocked it away. It was the much shorter Maradona, who had continued his run after starting the combination and suddenly appeared in front of Peter Shilton, punching the ball into the empty net. Peter Shilton and the English defenders initially assumed they would be awarded a free kick for Maradona's handball. However, when they looked towards the referee, they were astonished to see him pointing towards the centre circle, awarding a valid goal. The English players protested as much as they could, but referee Ali Bennaceur would not change his decision. In the 51st minute, Argentina were 1-0 up, with Diego Maradona as the goalscorer. This goal would later become known as the 'Hand of God'.
After the 1-0, England had just started to build some attacks again, led by Gary Lineker, putting Argentina under increasing pressure. Until, in the 54th minute, the ball suddenly fell to Maradona's feet around 60 metres from the English goal. Where many footballers might have looked for a simple pass or a through ball, Maradona decided to take on two English midfielders before starting a run towards goal. With another midfielder chasing him, he continued his dribble towards the English goal, getting past England's left-back. The English centre-backs tried to stop him, but without success. Peter Shilton, with the handball still fresh in his memory, came off his line as a last resort to stop Maradona. But with a simple feint, Maradona got past him as well and calmly slotted the ball into the empty net. Within just four minutes, Maradona had turned the football world upside down with two of the most iconic goals ever scored. The second goal was later named the 'Goal of the Century' by FIFA.
Gary Lineker eventually managed to score a consolation goal, but it was not enough to defeat Maradona's Argentina. Argentina eventually won 2-1 and progressed to the semi-finals. Their opponents in the semi-finals were Belgium. The match remained tense for a long time, but two moments of individual brilliance from Maradona eventually secured a 2-0 victory for Argentina. Once again, both goals were scored by Maradona. In the World Cup final, Argentina faced West Germany. Argentina quickly took a 2-0 lead, but goals from Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Rudi Völler made for a tense final stage of the match. In the 84th minute, Diego Maradona played a beautiful through ball to midfielder Burruchaga, putting him through on goal. Burruchaga remained composed and sent the Estadio Azteca into celebration with the 3-2 goal. The referee blew the final whistle not long afterwards, and Maradona was able to lift the World Cup trophy.
Now, let's return to the story of the most expensive football shirt ever sold. For that, we need to go back to the quarter-final against England. Can you remember the player who unintentionally played the ball back towards the English goalkeeper before Maradona scored the 1-0? That's right, Steve Hodge. Steve Hodge had played the entire match as a midfielder for England and had therefore unintentionally provided the assist for the 'Hand of God' goal. When the referee blew the final whistle, the disappointment among the English players was enormous, and Steve Hodge was no exception. However, once he arrived in the dressing room, Steve Hodge decided to visit the Argentine dressing room with the aim of getting Maradona's shirt. Maradona was in a good mood and decided to swap shirts with Steve Hodge. Neither of them knew just how legendary this shirt would become.
Steve Hodge soon realised that he had made the right decision, as several players from the England squad asked him whether they could have the shirt. However, Steve Hodge had no intention of giving it away. Eventually, word spread that Steve Hodge was in possession of Maradona's legendary shirt. There was so much demand for it among collectors and football fans in general that, in 2002, Steve Hodge decided to put the shirt on display at the National Football Museum in Manchester, allowing everyone to enjoy it.
On 25 November 2020, Diego Maradona passed away following a heart attack. He was only 60 years old. Tributes to one of the greatest footballers of all time poured in from all over the world, and in Naples, Napoli's stadium was renamed the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. There was also renewed interest in the legendary shirt owned by Steve Hodge. Just one month after Maradona's death, people even showed up at Steve Hodge's door asking about the shirt. At the time, Steve Hodge stated that he found this disrespectful and that these people had completely missed the point. Although the shirt was still on display at the National Football Museum, Hodge decided in 2022 that it was time to give the shirt a new owner.
In April 2022, an auction began for the shirt worn by Maradona against England in 1986, 36 years after the match had taken place. There was still some controversy surrounding the shirt. After the auction was announced, Dalma Maradona, Maradona's daughter, claimed that the shirt owned by Hodge was actually the shirt Maradona had worn during the first half, rather than the second half, when Maradona scored both goals. After independent photo-matching analysis confirmed that it was indeed the shirt from the second half, the auction went ahead.
Once the auction opened, a bid of €4,800,000 was placed on the shirt fairly quickly. For a long time, this looked set to be the winning bid, until it was outbid by €240,000 just nine minutes before the auction ended. This was the starting point of a nine-minute bidding war. Eventually, the auction closed with a winning bid of no less than €8,400,000! This not only made it the most expensive football shirt ever sold, but at the time, also the most expensive sports memorabilia item ever sold. The buyer has remained anonymous, and the shirt is not expected to be on public display again anytime soon. For now, we will have to make do with shirts from another Argentine number 10 :)