The trophy was considered missing for more than 25 years
Ballon d’Or 1986 legendary Argentine forward and coach Diego Maradona will be sold at auction in the suburbs of Paris.
The auction house Aguttes in Neuilly-sur-Seine announced the sale of the trophy. The organizers do not disclose the starting price; its cost is estimated at several million euros. The auction will take place on June 6.
Maradona received the 1986 Ballon d’Or for the best player at the World Cup in Mexico when the Argentina national team, with his participation, became champions. Later, in 1989, the trophy was stolen from a bank in Naples where the Argentine was playing.
They have been trying to find Maradona’s Golden Ball for more than 25 years. Finally, in 2016, among other valuable items, it was bought at auction by a collector for several hundred euros. The man initially accepted the trophy for a handball award, but it took him several years to realize that it was a football Golden Ball. According to French law, he became the legal owner of the find, since Maradona’s heirs did not make claims within three years from the date of sale, and he himself acquired the trophy in good faith.
Diego Maradona died in 2020. The forward, together with the Argentina national team, became world champion in 1986, and also vice-champion in 1990. Maradona later led the Albiceleste as head coach.
Source: Sportarena
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