The jersey worn by Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona, who died of a heart attack in 2020, during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico is up for auction.



The Associated Press reported that the global auction company Sotheby's announced that "the auction of the jersey worn by Maradona during the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico match against England will begin on the 20th," the Associated Press reported.



Sotheby's expected the jersey to sell for at least £4 million.



During the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Argentina and England in the quarter-finals were famous for Maradona's 'Hand of God'.



In this match, Maradona scored consecutive goals in the 6th and 10th minutes of the second half, but there was a lot of controversy as the first goal went in with an outstretched fist rather than a header.



Hence the expression 'God's hand'.



The second goal was Maradona's shot that beat five English defenders while running 60m, and was selected as the 'Goal of the 20th Century' by the FIFA vote in 2002.



The match progressed to the semi-finals with Argentina winning 2-1.



This jersey top is owned by Steve Hodge (England), who then exchanged jerseys with Maradona after the match.



"The jersey is not for sale," Hodge told the BBC after Maradona's death in 2020.



Hodge has leased the jersey to the National Football Museum in Manchester, England.



The Sotheby's auction will run from the 20th to the 4th of May, and it will be up to the owner of the new uniform whether or not it will continue to be displayed in the museum after the auction is successful.



So far, the record for the highest auction price for a soccer jersey was worn by Pele (Brazil) during the 1970 World Cup final, and sold for £157,750 at an auction in 2002, or 250 million won.



In all sports, the record for the New York Yankees jersey worn around 1930 by Major League Baseball home run king Babe Ruth (USA) sold for $5.64 million, or KRW 6.86 billion in Korean money, at an auction in 2019.



It is possible that this Maradona jersey may exceed Ruth's record depending on the auction results.



(Photo = Getty Images Korea)