Maradona's historic shirt displayed in Qatar during the World Cup
The shirt worn by Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona when he scored two famous goals against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals, will be displayed in Qatar during the 2022 World Cup, five months after it was sold at about $9.3 million at auction, according to Agence France-Presse learned today. .
The shirt, which broke all records for the sale of sports collectibles, without revealing the identity of the buyer, according to Sotheby's auction house, will be loaned to the Qatar Sports Museum and displayed from Sunday until April 1.
The Argentine collector, Marcelo Ordas, said after selling the shirt last May to the TV channel "La Nacion" in his country that he "unfortunately" failed to offer 6.8 million dollars, in the face of "an offer from the Middle East that arrived at the last minute."
He added that he had failed in his quest despite "a very great effort" and the help of "several contracting heads", such as Barcelona defender Gerard Pique and the president of the Argentine Football Association, Claudio Tapia, who wanted to help him "to return this shirt to share with all Argentines".
An absolute record
at this price, the blue jersey with its number 10 set a record, smashing the previous record for the sale of antiques related to sports, which was in the possession of the manuscript of the 1892 Olympic Declaration of French Baron Pierre de Coubertin, which sold for 8.8 million dollars in December 2019. But last September 16 A shirt worn by American basketball legend Michael Jordan in 1998 sold for 10.1 million dollars, becoming the most expensive sports piece in the world.
Maradona's shirt for the first time put football at the highest level in this field, while the market for shirts is often active in American baseball and basketball.
In 1986, Maradona exchanged his shirt at the end of the match with England midfielder Steve Hodge, who loaned it to the National Football Museum in Manchester for more than 20 years before putting it up for sale.
That match was one of the most memorable in the history of the World Cup, and gained special significance for Argentina because it was played just four years after losing the Malwy War.
Maradona died on November 25, 2020 at the age of 60 as a result of a heart attack, after suffering a long period of health problems.
The sale was controversial as part of Diego Maradona's family claimed, despite repeated assurances from Sotheby's, that the shirt was not the one the Argentina captain wore when he scored the two goals against England.
Maradona and Hodge told the story of their shirt exchange in their books.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news