CELEBRITY
MARADONA SHIRT AND PELÉ TROPHY PUT UP FOR AUCTION

Items from the careers of Diego Maradona and Pelé are being auctioned this week, including a jersey from the Argentinian’s testimonial match and a unique replica of the World Cup awarded to the Brazilian legend by FIFA.
Julien’s Auctions have taken advantage of the upsurge in interest in Maradona following his sudden death last Wednesday (November 25) by adding several items to its Icons & Idols Trilogy: Sports auction on Friday (December 4).
These include a ball game used and signed by several Napoli players, including Maradona, during the 1988-1989 Italian Championship “Calcio” season and a framed display featuring jerseys signed by both him and Pelé.
Early bidding has seen strong interest in the FILA brand Argentina national team commemorative jersey signed by Maradona from a testimonial match given in his honour in Buenos Aires in November 2010.
More than 50,000 people turned up to see Argentina beat an All-Star World XI 6-3 with Maradona scoring twice.
So far, bidding has reached $2,500 (£1,900/€2,000).
The most famous shirt Maradona wore, however, has not so far been up for auction, even though it is claimed it could fetch as much as $2 million (£1.5 million/€1.7 million).
It is the shirt that Maradona wore during Argentina’s 2-1 victory over England in the quarter-final of the FIFA World Cup in 1986 – the match famous for the “Hand of God” but which also featured a goal voted the best of the 20th century.
The shirt, currently on display at England’s National Football Museum in Manchester, was given to former England international Steve Hodge by Maradona himself after the match in Mexico City.
David Amerman of Goldin Auctions in New Jersey believes the shirt could well smash records if Hodge wanted to sell it.
“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,” Amerman told Reuters.

“It certainly could be a possibility, the values have jumped quite a bit in soccer.”
Hodge, however, denied the report he was looking to cash in on the shirt.
“I just find it totally wrong and disrespectful,” Hodge told The Sun.
“It is not for sale.
“I have had it for 34 years now and I have never once tried to sell it or hawk it, and definitely not at the moment.
“I like having it.
“For me it has incredible sentimental value because it was the pinnacle of my career at 23.”
The replica Jules Rimet trophy created for Pelé was awarded to him after he helped Brazil win the World Cup for a third time in 1970.
The one-of-a-kind trophy is among several top-of-the-range items being offered in a joint sale between Sotheby’s and Goldin Auctions, including Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzky and Rafael Nadal.
It is estimated that it could fetch as much as $800,000 (£600,000/€670,000) when the auction ends on Thursday (December 3).
That would mark a big increase on when it was sold for £395,000 (£526,000/€440,000) four years ago in London, at a sale of Pelé’s personal collection organised by Julien’s Auctions, when Swiss watchmaking giant Hublot made the final bid.
At the same auction, two of Pelé’s three World Cup winners’ medals also went under the hammer, selling for a collective £340,000 ($450,000/€380,000).
The current world-record price for an item of sports memorabilia was set in December 2019 when Pierre de Coubertin’s 1892 Olympic Manifesto sold in New York for $8.8 million (£6.6 million/€7.3 million), eight times the expected price.
It was bought by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, the President of the International Fencing Federation, who donated it to the Olympic Museum.
-insidethegames
CELEBRITY
Former England captain, David Beckham and actor Gary Oldman awarded knighthoods

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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CELEBRITY
Diego Maradona trial judge stands down amid scandal

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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CELEBRITY
The World’s 10 Highest-Paid Athletes in 2025 revealed

For the third year in a row, and the fifth time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete.
But at age 40, the Portuguese soccer superstar is reaching new highs.
Over the past 12 months, counting both his playing salary at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and his off-field business endeavors, Ronaldo collected an estimated $275 million before taxes and agent fees—the third-best year by an active athlete ever measured by Forbes.
On that all-time list, Ronaldo is surpassed only by boxer Floyd Mayweather, who earned $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018.
And when it comes to the 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo has a $119 million advantage over No. 2, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.

The League of Wealthy Sportsmen
The gap is especially impressive considering that Curry’s $156 million total is also a record for his sport, beating the NBA mark of $128.2 million set last year by LeBron James.
And there are plenty of other eye-popping paydays among this year’s 10 highest-paid athletes, starting with James, who notched a personal-best $133.8 million to land at No. 6. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4, $137million) and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) broke records for the NFL and MLB.
Combined, the 10 highest-paid athletes brought in $1.4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1.38 billion and the largest total since Forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990.
This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million.
In fact, heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ($101 million) and golfer Jon Rahm ($100 million) reached the milestone, too, without managing to crack this list.
For the third year in a row, and the fifth time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete.
But at age 40, the Portuguese soccer superstar is reaching new highs.
Over the past 12 months, counting both his playing salary at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and his off-field business endeavors, Ronaldo collected an estimated $275 million before taxes and agent fees—the third-best year by an active athlete ever measured by Forbes.
On that all-time list, Ronaldo is surpassed only by boxer Floyd Mayweather, who earned $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018.
And when it comes to the 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo has a $119 million advantage over No. 2, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
The gap is especially impressive considering that Curry’s $156 million total is also a record for his sport, beating the NBA mark of $128.2 million set last year by LeBron James.
And there are plenty of other eye-popping paydays among this year’s 10 highest-paid athletes, starting with James, who notched a personal-best $133.8 million to land at No. 6. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4, $137million) and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) broke records for the NFL and MLB.
Combined, the 10 highest-paid athletes brought in $1.4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1.38 billion and the largest total since Forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990.
This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million.
In fact, heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ($101 million) and golfer Jon Rahm ($100 million) reached the milestone, too, without managing to crack this list.
World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2025
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