Former German soccer player Lothar Matthaus stands next to the show case featuring the shirt worn by Diego Armando Maradona in the final of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, as it is unveiled, during an event at the Argentine Embassy in Madrid, Spain, Thursday Aug. 25, 2022. The shirt was given to Matthaus, after he exchanged shirts with Maradona at the end of the final match. Matthaus has donated the shirt to the Legends football museum in Madrid. (AP Photo/Paul White)
The Associated Press
MADRID (AP) - The jersey Diego Maradona wore in the 1986 World Cup final was back in Argentine hands Thursday thanks to German great Lothar Matthäus.
Matthäus, who swapped jerseys with Maradona at halftime of the final won by Argentina in México, returned the historic apparel at a ceremony at the Argentina Embassy in Madrid.
The shirt will be displayed at a new soccer museum in the Spanish capital.
'œIt was always a great honor to play against him,'ť Matthäus said of the late Maradona, through a translator. 'œAs a player and a person, he was always someone very important to me. He will always be in our hearts.'ť
Matthäus said he also exchanged jerseys with Maradona after the 1990 World Cup final won by the Germans in Italy. He said that shirt was in a museum in Germany.
The jersey Maradona wore against England in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup, when he scored the controversial "Hand of God" goal, was sold for more than $9 million in an online auction by Sotheby's in May, the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece of sports memorabilia.
Matthäus was given a plaque at the Argentina Embassy in recognition of his soccer career and contribution of sporting values.
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Former German soccer player Lothar Matthaus, right and Argentine collector and President of the Legends football museum Marcelo Ordas, applaud as the shirt worn by Diego Armando Maradona in the final of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico is unveiled, during an event at the Argentine Embassy in Madrid, Spain, Thursday Aug. 25, 2022. The shirt was given to Matthaus, after he exchanged shirts with Maradona at the end of the final match. Matthaus has donated the shirt to the Legends football museum in Madrid. (AP Photo/Paul White)
The Associated Press
Former German soccer player Lothar Matthaus holds an award he was given by the Argentina embassy in recognition of his football career and contribution of sporting values after donating the shirt worn by Diego Armando Maradona in the final of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, during an event at the Argentine Embassy in Madrid, Spain, Thursday Aug. 25, 2022. The shirt was given to Matthaus, after he exchanged shirts with Maradona at the end of the final match. Matthaus has donated the shirt to the Legends football museum in Madrid. (AP Photo/Paul White)
The Associated Press