CELEBRITY
MARADONA’S “HAND OF GOD” SHIRT COULD BE SOLD FOR $2 MILLION
The shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored his famous “Hand of God” goal against England at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico could be available for $2 million following the Argentine’s death on Wednesday, says an American sports memorabilia expert.
The shirt is owned by former England player Steve Hodge, who got it from Maradona after the match in which his attempted back pass led to the controversial goal that helped dump England out of the tournament which Argentina went on to win in Mexico.
“I was walking down the tunnel and Maradona was coming in the opposite direction. I just tugged my shirt and we swapped there and then,” Hodge, who had been delayed on leaving the pitch doing a TV interview, told British media.
The shirt is currently on display at England’s National Football Museum in Manchester.
“It’s very difficult to gauge (the value) with the “Hand Of God” jersey, but I know that the owner was looking for a $2 million private sale,” David Amerman of Goldin Auction in New Jersey told Reuters. “It certainly could be a possibility, the values have jumped quite a bit in soccer.”
Amerman’s firm is currently involved in another auction together with Sotheby’s called ” A Century Of Champions,” which features a Jules Rimet trophy which was presented to Pele by FIFA after he won his third World Cup with Brazil in 1970.
The trophy is expected to sell for up to $800,000 and that sum could be dwarfed if Hodge finds a buyer for the Maradona shirt or if he puts it up for auction, although the 58-year-old former midfielder may not quite reach his target price.
TWO MILLION
“It’s very difficult to see how it would get to the two million dollar price, but I don’t see why an individual who had the money wouldn’t want something like that – you can’t really put a number on it. If you find the right person in the right place, it’s a realistic possibility,” Amerman explained.
“Maradona’s rookie soccer card, we recently sold a copy for $10,000. This is a card that was worth maybe a few hundred dollars just a few years ago, and that was before his death. I saw one yesterday online that they were asking $20,000 for.”
But Amerman sounded a note of caution for those thinking of getting involved in the Maradona memorabilia market following the Argentine’s death aged 60 after a heart attack.
“Right now we’re definitely seeing increased action – I’ve already got inquiries from people who have purchased Maradona items on our site looking to sell them back in our next auction.
“We saw with the passing of Kobe Bryant this year… an immediate huge spike in his memorabilia… then it levels out because the market gets saturated…”
One man who won’t be putting the shirt Maradona gave him on the open market is ex-Arsenal and Juventus player Liam Brady.
The former Ireland midfielder played against Maradona many times for club and country and the Argentine gave him an unusual number 17 shirt rather than his usual number 10 after a game in 1979.
“If it went to a private collector that really wanted it, if it was going to the right place and it was going to be appreciated, I would consider selling it, but I wouldn’t put it on eBay or any of these auction rooms,” he told Reuters.
“It has a huge amount of sentimental value.”
-Reuters
-AFP
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer to reach billionaire status, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which has valued the Portugal great’s net worth at an estimated $1.4 billion.
The 40-year-old striker’s financial ascent comes after he signed a new contract with Saudi side Al-Nassr in June reportedly worth more than $400 million.
Bloomberg said that Ronaldo earned more than $550 million in salary between 2002 and 2023, supplemented by a decade-long Nike deal worth nearly $18 million annually, and lucrative endorsements with Armani, Castrol and others that added more than $175 million to his fortune.
Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr from Manchester United in 2023 had already made him the highest-paid player in football history, with an annual salary of 177 million pounds ($237.52 million), plus bonuses and a reported 15% share in his Saudi Arabia club.
Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has earned more than $600 million in pre-tax salary during his career.
Ronaldo’s billionaire status places him among a rare group of athletes that includes basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Roger Federer.
Ronaldo suggested he is not considering retirement any time soon.
“I still have a passion for this,” he said at the Portugal Football Globes gala on Tuesday. “My family says it’s time to quit and they ask me why I want to score 1000 goals if I’ve already scored 900-something. But I don’t think that way inside.
“I’m still producing good things, I’m helping my club and the national team. Why not continue? I am sure that when I finish I will leave full because I gave everything of myself. I know I don’t have many years left to play, but the few I have left, I have to enjoy them to the fullest.”
-Reuters
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Former England soccer captain David Beckham and actor Gary Oldman were knighted in King Charles’ annual birthday honours list on Saturday, while sculptor Antony Gormley was made a Companion of Honour.
Beckham, 50, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1993, going on to make almost 400 appearances for the club where he won a string of titles and cups.
He subsequently played for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and Inter Milan, as well as captaining his country 58 times and making 115 appearances.
His marriage to fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham in 1999 cemented a celebrity status which went far beyond his sporting exploits.
Oldman, 67, started his career on the stage, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, before rising to prominence in film. He won the best actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama “Darkest Hour”.
He also had roles in the “Dark Knight Trilogy” and the “Harry Potter” movie series and more recently starred in the TV spy drama “Slow Horses”.
Other famous names receiving honours included damehoods for musical theatre star Elaine Paige, novelist Pat Barker and ceramics maker Emma Bridgewater.
Roger Daltrey, lead singer of rock band the Who and a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, received a knighthood for services to charity.
More than 1,200 people received honours for their achievements, with a particular focus on those who had given their time to public service, the government said.
King Charles’ official birthday will be celebrated with the annual “Trooping the Colour” military parade in London on Saturday. His actual birthday is on November 14
-Reuters
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One of three judges in Diego Maradona’s closely scrutinized homicide trial in Argentina resigned on Tuesday amid a scandal triggered by the alleged filming of an unauthorised documentary, bringing uncertainty to the future of legal proceedings.
The high-profile trial over the death of soccer star Maradona began on March 11 in the South American country where the World Cup winner is still revered.
-Reuters
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