The shirt that Argentine football legend Diego Maradona wore against England at the 1986 World Cup will be displayed in Qatar during the 2022 World Cup, six months after being auctioned for 9.3 million dollars. The jersey, bought on May 4 by an anonymous buyer for a record sum at an auction organized by Sotheby’s, was loaned to the Qatar Sports Museum, where it will be exhibited from Sunday until April 1 .
A jersey steeped in “history”
Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, head of Qatar’s museums and a figure in the ruling family, said she was “happy” to have obtained the loan as part of an exhibition dedicated to the history of football and of the World Cup.
He has “a whole story,” she recalled in a statement to AFP. “Starting with the moment Nottingham Forest midfielder Steve Hodge swapped shirts with Maradona after the game, in what now seems like a very inspired move.”
During this legendary quarter-final against England at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City, Maradona, who died in November 2020 at the age of 60, scored the two victory goals (2-1). The Argentinian, wearing the N.10, had pushed the ball with his hand against England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, saying later that this first goal came “a bit from the head of Maradona, a bit from the hand of God”.
Maradona scored the ‘goal of the century’ with this shirt
Four minutes later, he trumped five England players and Shilton to score the “goal of the century”, according to a Fifa poll in 2002. Argentina went on to win the World Cup.
After their trade, Hodge loaned the shirt to a museum in Manchester for 20 years before putting it up for auction, where it fetched for more than double Sotheby’s valuation. The anonymous buyer won ahead of six other bidders, including the Argentine Football Federation.
Since September 16, a jersey worn by basketball legend Michael Jordan has sold for $10.1 million, becoming the most expensive new sporting item in the world.
The shirt on display alongside a ball from the first World Cup final in 1930
Maradona’s jersey will be on display alongside a ball from the first World Cup final in 1930, the first writing of the rules of football, a bronze from the right foot of iconic Brazilian player Pelé and even a other jerseys worn by sports greats.
“Many of the objects on display at the Sports Museum are symbols of human passion with long and moving stories,” commented Sheikha Al Mayassa. “These objects now have a life of their own in global culture – inspiring emotions, evoking memories and sparking dialogue.”
The museum opened at the end of March inside the Khalifa International Stadium, one of the eight of the 2022 World Cup.