Diego Maradona, who was the captain of the Argentina side in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, was awarded the prestigious prize for being the best player in the tournament and became the second recipient of the award having been first launched in 1982.
Argentina legend Diego Maradona’s stolen 1986 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball will be auctioned on June 6 in France as announced by Aguttes auction house on Tuesday (May 7). Maradona, who was the captain of the Argentina side in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, was awarded the prestigious prize for being the best player in the tournament and became the second recipient of the award having been first launched in 1982. The Golden Ball is estimated to attract a value in millions with top bidders estimated to travel to France for the auctions.
French newspaper L’Equipe reported on Monday that Maradona’s award had been stolen but has resurfaced among several trophy lots in an auction room. Recently it was entrusted to Aguttes, which carried out an investigation into its provenance and managed to authenticate it as Maradona’s Adidas Golden Ball trophy.
Maradona became the second recipient of the Golden Ball in 1986 after Italy’s Paolo Rossi in 1982 and led his side to their second FIFA World Cup triumph while scoring five goals. He scored twice against England in the quarterfinal where he scored the iconic ‘goal of the century’ and the ‘hand of god goal’ both in the same match.
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He scored a goal with his hand against England goalkeeper Peter Shelton which he termed a ‘hand of god goal’ while he scored from his own half in the same match. Maradona dribbled past five defenders before beating the English goalkeeper for the goal.
The Golden Ball remains the most prestigious individual award in the FIFA World Cup with some greats of the game winning it. Italy’s Paolo Rossi, Romario and Ronaldo of Brazil and Zinedine Zidane of France remain prominent names to win the prize asset. On the flip side, Maradona’s countryman, Lionel Messi also won the award in 2014 and 2022 and remains the only player to win it on two occasions.
