The Ballon d’Or he won Diego Armando Maradona in 1986 will be auctioned outside Paris on June 6 after being considered lost for decades until a collector came across it by chance.
The Aguttes auction house, in the town of Neuilly sur Seine (west of Paris), announced this Tuesday the sale of this cult object whose estimated price, which was not disclosed, could rise to several million euros. Its current owner is a modest art gallery owner who found it by chance.
He received it after winning the 1986 World Cup
Maradona achieved this award – which until the mid-90s was only awarded to European players – for being the best player in the 1986 World Cup including Argentina. For that World Cup, won by the albiceleste, and for the 1982 World Cup, France Football – organizer of the award -, FIFA and Adidas created that difference that ended up being lost.
In addition to the intrinsic value of this award, the unique story behind it is remarkable. Hidden in a chest on a bank in Naples – where Maradona played – It was stolen in 1989 by a group of thieves belonging to the mafia, according to France Football (FF) magazine.
The untested version
Since then the Ballon d’Or has disappeared. Although the version of some of those who participated in the robbery was that it was melted down to make gold ingots, this hypothesis lost its strength when it was learned that The award is not made of solid gold but bronze.
So passed 26 years of mystery, from 1989 to 2016, when the average collector Abdelhamid B. He bought it, not knowing what it was about, FF said.
The collector’s find
The collector acquired for several hundred euros a box containing other prizes (some plastic, others fake marble) at the Drouot-Montmartre auction house, where the unsold goods go to the Drouot palace, one at the main auction points in Paris.
However, it took the Franco-Algerian several years to realize that this was Maradona’s Ballon d’Or, because He thought, at first, it was a handball distinction.
Checking
He finally connected the dots and was able to confirm that it was ‘Pibe’ with two high-tech expert reports based on two small defects in the ball’s stripes.
French law considers Abdelhamid B. the legitimate owner of the Ballon d’Or, arguing that he obtained it in good faith, without knowing that it was stolen, and its legitimate owner (heirs by Maradona) did not claim it for three seasons. years since it was sold.
Thus, the collector has an open door to pocket the treasure.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
