News that Nottingham Forest hero Steve Hodge has sold his famous Diego Maradona "Hand of God" shirt for more than £7million sparked plenty of reaction from around the footballing world.
Former Forest midfielder Hodge swapped shirts with Maradona after the 1986 World Cup quarter-final between England and Argentina in Mexico, and has owned it ever since, although the item has spent the last 20 years on loan at the National Football Museum in Manchester. Maradona – one of the greatest footballers of all time, who died in November 2020 at the age of 60 – famously scored two unforgettable goals in the match, including one assisted by the "Hand of God", as England were knocked out of the tournament.
The blue shirt went under the hammer at Sotheby’s on Wednesday afternoon for £7,142,500 – marking a new auction record for any item of sports memorabilia. The auction house described the famous blue number 10 jersey on its website as in “good overall condition consistent with heavy use, perspiration and athletic activity” with “slight de-threading on hemming on the front bottom of shirt, and minor spots throughout”.
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Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectables, 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. In the weeks since we announced the auction we have been inundated by sports fans and collectors alike, with a palpable excitement in the air for the duration of the public exhibition – and this unfiltered enthusiasm was echoed in the bidding.
“This is arguably the most coveted football shirt to ever come to auction, and so it is fitting that it now holds the auction record for any object of its kind.” The previous auction record for any sports memorabilia was the original autographed manuscript of the Olympic Manifesto from 1892, which sold at Sotheby’s for 8.8 million US dollars in December 2019.
Hodge's former England teammate, Gary Lineker, who also played in the Argentina match and scored a consolation goal, took to Twitter to give his reaction to the news. "Holy moly," Match of the Day presenter Lineker tweeted. "Well played, Steve Hodge.
"I’ll take offers for the other number 10 shirt in that game... reckon I’ll get at least a tenner."
