Nottingham Forest hero Steve Hodge has sold his match-worn Diego Maradona 'Hand of God' shirt for over £7 million at auction.
Former Forest midfielder Hodge swapped shirts with the legendary Maradona after the 1986 World Cup quarter-final clash 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.
Hodge let the shirt go under the hammer in a specialist auction, but the Forest hero was reported to have been subject to a dramatic plea from the Argentinian FA begging him not to sell the historic shirt. It is not known whether the Argentine delegation that travelled to England with hope of taking it back to the Maradona museum in Buenos Aires have been successful.
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The auction for Hodge's shirt has now closed with a winning bid of £7,142,500 picking up the historic piece of football memorabilia - marking a new auction record for an item sports memorabilia, according to Sotherby's.
For the past 20 years, the match-worn has been on loan to England's National Football Museum in Manchester.
Revealing why he is selling the iconic shirt, he said: "I have been the proud owner of this item for over 35 years, since Diego and I swapped shirts in the tunnel after the famed match. It was an absolute privilege to have played against one of the greatest and most magnificent football players of all time.
"It has also been a pleasure to share it with the public over the last 20 years at the National Football Museum, where it has been on display. The Hand of God shirt has deep cultural meaning to the football world, the people of Argentina, and the people of England and I'm certain that the new owner will have immense pride in owning the world's most iconic football shirt."
