* It went missing in unknown circumstances and set to be sold without the blessings of the late great player’s family members
* Argument by the Aguttes auction house in France is that the person who bought the trophy years ago was not aware it had been stolen
Dwight Fraser, Irie FM & George Ramsay, CNN
After Diego Maradona’s Adidas Golden Ball trophy went missing in unknown circumstances decades, it unexpectedly reappeared and is set to be sold without the blessings of the late great player’s family members.
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The trophy, that the star forward was awarded after the 1986 World Cup won by Argentina, is expected to sell for millions and family members are in the process of filing a lawsuit to stop its auction set for June 6, 2024 at Aguttes auction house in Paris, France.
The Golden Ball trophy rewarding the best player of the tournament had been missing for decades even after Maradona’s death in 2020 at age 60.
He captained Argentina in their 3-2 win over West Germany in the 1986 final in Mexico City and his exploits at the tournament earned him the Adidas Golden Ball trophy.
The trophy is set to be auctioned in Paris and Maradona’s heirs say it was stolen and claim the current owner cannot be entitled to sell it.
Gilles Moreu, a lawyer working with the paradox lawyers firm, said he will file an urgent request to have the Golden Ball withdrawn from the auction while the Aguttes auction house’s argument is that the person who bought the trophy years ago was not aware it had been stolen.
Bidders will be asked to make a deposit of 150,000 euros to participate in the June 6 auction.
In 2022, his Argentina jersey from the 1986 tournament sold for close to US$9.3 million, breaking the record for an item of sports memorabilia, while the “Hand of God” ball from the quarterfinal against England sold for US$2.4 million later that year.
“We expect millions [again], but we don’t know exactly because there is no trophy like that in the world … from the pinnacle of [Maradona’s] career,” François Thierry, a sports expert for Aguttes Auction House, told CNN Sport last week. It’s the unique opportunity of a lifetime for the potential buyer.”
Maradona is best remembered for his performance against England during the 1986 World Cup, punching the ball into the net for his infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal before scoring what was later voted the ‘Goal of the Century’ — slaloming past several defenders with a magnificent, weaving run.
The infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal
The two goals were less than five minutes apart and perfectly encapsulated the sublime and tortured genius of the Argentine star, who passed away in 2020.
Argentina went on to defeat West Germany 3-2 in the final and win the second of the country’s three World Cup titles.
The history of the Golden Ball trophy awarded to Maradona in Paris after the tournament is shrouded in mystery.
According to one tale, it was stolen by the mafia while Maradona was playing for Italian side Napoli and subsequently melted into gold ingots while other theories suggested that it was lost during a poker game or to pay off Maradona’s well-documented debts.
“We did a lot of research about it,” said Thierry. “We lost track of it in 1986, there’s been 38 years now. There are a lot of stories and legends, some inconsistent like [being used] to make gold with the mafia.
“We have also two biographies of Maradona where it doesn’t speak about [the trophy being] stolen. We did necessary checks with database Art Loss and Interpol. We called the police but without result, so we think we did everything we had to do.”
Diego Maradona receiving his Adidas Golden Ball trophy at the Lido in 1986
Aguttes’ catalogue calls the mafia theory “far-fetched” given that the trophy, a small soccer ball on top of a plinth, is made from a gold-copper alloy.
The item was bought at an auction along with several other trophies, though the anonymous buyer didn’t realize at the time that it was Maradona’s Golden Ball, Thierry explained.
Aguttes has undertaken a range of checks — examining the manufacturing information, the dating, the irregularities, the patina and the oxidation — to verify the trophy’s authenticity.
“When we saw it was okay, it was an amazing discovery,” said Thierry.
Maradona was unquestionably a household name before the 1986 World Cup, but after leading Argentina to the title, he became a global superstar.
The breathtaking skill he demonstrated on the pitch was matched by extreme lows off it — drug addiction, substance abuse, illegitimate children and feuds over money — all blighted the Argentine at various stages throughout his career.
An unacknowledged son, photo opportunities with the mafia and cocaine binges were shown in British Oscar-winning filmmaker Asif Kapadia’s documentary on Maradona’s time at Napoli, where the forward has been granted deific status for leading the club to two league titles and the 1989 UEFA Cup.
His death from a heart attack at the age of 60 was mourned by millions in Argentina and around the world as the loss of one of the game’s greatest ever players.
Maradona’s remains lie in a private cemetery on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, but his children have recently filed a request with the Argentine Courts for the body to be moved to a safer place where fans can pay their respects.
Burruchaga
Jorge Burruchaga, Argentinian teammate of Diego Maradona and scorer of the winning goal at the 1986 World Cup remains quoted as saying: “At that 1986 World Cup, Diego shone like never before or since in his career; it was his monument.
“We knew we had the best player in the world, there was no doubt about it, we knew it for a fact.
“My favourite recollection of this World Cup is the second goal he scored against England, which remains the most beautiful in history for me because you must consider the state of the pitch, the altitude, the context between the two countries, and what he managed to do.
“He breezed past six players — it was divine. On that day, he created a lasting legacy for all Argentinian sportsmen and women — not just footballers — showing just how much, you have to fight to be worthy of wearing the Argentine jersey.”
Diego Maradona was named Player of the 20th Century by FIFA, along with great Pelé, and the trophy symbolizes his greatest achievement and his greatest ever goal.
The great Pele (left)
PR Excellence reports that “since the 1982 FIFA World Cup, the Adidas Golden Ball has rewarded the best player of the tournament, and thus constitutes one of the most prestigious individual distinctions in the world of football”.
“Maradona received the Adidas Golden Ball trophy at Lido (Paris, France) on November 13, 1986, as the best player of the World Cup.
“A unique piece in the history of football, this award given to the most emblematic player of this sport, alongside Pelé, constitutes a first in the art market; no Adidas Golden Ball trophy has been presented at auction, until today.”
The report further says FIFA Museum in Zurich, Switzerland preserved the Adidas Golden Ball from 1990 and while the Adidas Golden Ball changes design at each World Cup, the 1986 trophy uses the designs of the official Adidas ‘Azteca’ ball used for this World Cup in Mexico.
“At a recent auction, the shirt worn by Diego Maradona during the 1986 World Cup match against England, was sold for a reported figure in region of US$7 million.
“It was sold by former England player Steve Hodge who exchanged shirts with Maradona after the classic World Cup match with Maradona scoring the ‘Hand of God’ goal and the ‘Goal of the Century.’”
The the report adds that the Adidas Golden Ball trophy encompasses and marks all of that history and François Thierry, is further quoted as saying: “Used far too often wrongly, the word ‘legend’ fits Diego Maradona perfectly. He is to football what Muhammad Ali is to boxing or Michael Jordan to basketball, an icon who goes far beyond the boundaries of his sport.
“He is certainly one of the most human athletes we have ever known, with his strengths and weaknesses. The golden kid ‘El Pibe de Oro’ — the Golden Boy — also nicknamed ‘the God of football’ is a special case in the history of world football, a raw and instinctive talent, in a career punctuated by strokes of brilliance with both success and excess.
“The history of football with a capital H is closely linked to that of Maradona,” Thiery said.—Additional reporting by Matias Grez & Ben Morse, CNN; edited by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
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