Argentina's late soccer champion Manatana won his second World Cup title in 1986 when he knocked out England with the Hand of God. The jersey he wore at the time was recently sold at auction on Wednesday (4) for US$9.3 million (about HK$72.54 million), setting a new record high for a single piece of sports memorabilia.
Manatana scored two goals in the second half to lead Argentina to a 2-1 victory over England in the World Cup Final 8 in Mexico. However, the slow-motion replay after the match showed that Manatana scored the first goal by tapping the ball into the goal with his hand, but the referee suspected that it was regarded as a headbutt and ruled that the goal was valid, which caused controversy. He also scored the golden goal of the century in the same match with a twist of six, which became a classic.
After the match, England midfielder Stephen Hodge exchanged jerseys with Manatana, who recently decided to put the jerseys up for auction at Sotheby's. Initially estimated to sell for between US$6 million (HK$46.8 million) and US$7.5 million (HK$58.5 million), the jerseys ended up setting a record price for the auction, with the auction house not revealing the identity of the buyer.
