The Golden Ball of Diego Armando Maradona, chosen as the best player in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, will be auctioned in France next June, the Aguttes auction house announced this Tuesday.
This is the first Ballon d’Or to go up for auction and, although its value has yet to be confirmed, the auction house expects it to reach millions in figures on June 6.
Maradona, who died in 2020, won the award after leading Argentina to victory in the World Cup in Mexico, scoring five goals in the final phase in which he captained his country and played every minute of the tournament.
That tournament is probably best remembered for Maradona’s two goals against England in the quarterfinals.
Maradona beat English goalkeeper Peter Shilton and scored the first goal with his fist, which he later dubbed “the hand of God.”
The second was an incredible dribble run from his own half, which evaded five English players, and was voted ‘goal of the century’.
The shirt he wore that day, along with the match ball, have already been auctioned.
After his display against England, Maradona scored both goals in the semi-final victory against Belgium and Argentina won a thrilling 3-2 final against West Germany.
The Ballon d’Or was introduced at the 1982 World Cup, and its winners include Italian Paolo Rossi, Brazilians Romario and Ronaldo, Frenchman Zinedine Zidane, and Argentine Lionel Messi is the only player to have won it twice.
Maradona’s prize had disappeared before reappearing among several lots of trophies in an auction room.
It was recently entrusted to Aguttes, who conducted an investigation into its provenance and managed to authenticate it as Maradona’s Adidas Golden Ball trophy.
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– 2024-05-11 05:26:26
