The iconic Golden Ball trophy that Diego Maradona won during the 1986 World Cup has resurfaced and will be auctioned in Paris next month, according to Aguttes. The trophy, which had been missing for decades, was given to Maradona for his outstanding performance at the tournament, where he led Argentina to a 3-2 victory over West Germany in the final in Mexico City.
Prior to that, Maradona scored the controversial “Hand of God” goal and the “Goal of the Century” in a 2-1 win over England in the quarterfinals. The auction house anticipates that the trophy will fetch millions of dollars due to its uniqueness, as it is one of only three Golden Balls ever created by Adidas.
The trophy was presented to Maradona at a ceremony at the Lido cabaret on the Champs-Élysées in 1986, but it subsequently went missing, leading to various rumors about its whereabouts. Some speculate that it was lost during a poker game or sold to settle debts, while others suggest that Maradona had stored it in a safe in a bank in Naples that was burglarized by local criminals in 1989 when he was playing in the Italian league. However, a reformed member of the mafia claimed that the trophy was melted down into gold pieces.
The trophy reappeared in 2016 among other items acquired from a private collection at an auction in Paris. Aguttes thoroughly investigated and confirmed it as Diego Maradona’s Adidas Golden Ball trophy before putting it up for sale again this year. Bidders interested in participating will have to make a deposit of €150,000 ($161,000).