Published on 08:41 PM, August 25, 2022

Maradona’s 1986 WC jersey back in Argentina 

Photo: Collected

German great Lothar Matthäus brought back the jersey Diego Maradona wore in the 1986 World Cup final in Argentina on Thursday. 

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.

"It was always a great honor to play against him," Matthäus said of the late Maradona, through a translator. "As a player and a person, he was always someone very important to me. He will always be in our hearts."

Matthäus also added that he had exchanged jerseys with Maradona after the 1990 World Cup final, which was won by Germany in Italy, and that the shirt was in a museum in Germany.

Matthäus was given a plaque at the Argentina Embassy in recognition of his soccer career and contribution of sporting values.

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.

During the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup, England's Steve Hodge looped a ball to his goalie that was intercepted by Maradona, enabling him to score one of the most notorious goals of all time.