DIEGO MARADONA’S 1986 ‘STOLEN’ WORLD CUP GOLDEN BALL TO BE AUCTIONED

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The Golden Ball trophy received by Diego Maradona for his outstanding performance in the 1986 World Cup and believed to have been stolen, has been found.

On Tuesday, the Aguttes auction house said the award, which had been missing for decades, will be auctioned in Paris next month, adding that it expects the trophy “to fetch millions due to its uniqueness.”

Maradona was awarded the Golden Ball trophy after guiding Argentina to victory in the tournament held in Mexico, where he famously scored the controversial “hand of God” goal against England in the quarter-finals.

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According to a story from a reformed mafia member, the trophy was allegedly melted down into gold pieces. Some accounts suggest it was lost during a high-stakes poker game or sold to settle debts.

Also, others claim Maradona placed it in a safe deposit box in a Naples bank that was later robbed by local criminals in 1989, during his time playing in the Italian league.

However, the BBC also reports that Aguttes auction house sport expert, Francois Thierry said the trophy was bought by an anonymous seller who was unaware of what he had purchased.

“There are a lot of stories and legends, like it was stolen by the mafia to make gold. We did all the necessary checks and called the police about it.

“We have had the ball for about one year. We did a lot of research about it since there are a lot of details in terms of manufacturer comments until we could say it was a good one.”

“He bought it with many other things, at the beginning, he did not know it was something important,” Thierry added.

“In the case he bought, there were a lot of trophies. He then searched on the internet and found it could be the Golden Ball.

“He tried to call Maradona and Fifa, but had no luck.”