Fans of Diego Maradona will have a chance to snag memorabilia from the soccer star at an auction on Sunday( December 19), just over a year after his death, which will include his famous cigar, a pair of BMWs, and a luxury villa that Maradona bought for his parents.
The “10 auction,” a reference to his jersey number with Argentina, which he led to win the World Cup in 1986, is being held by his family to raise money while legal issues over the distribution of the player’s assets are resolved.
Maradona, widely known as one of the greatest footballers of all time, led a lively and controversial life, which earned him a huge number of ardent fans but also saw him battle drug and alcohol addiction, along with his ill health.
“The five children (Maradona’s recognized sons) agreed through their lawyer, and this event could have been carried out in order to raise money. This is just to pay the expenses,” Adrien Mercado, head of the auction house”, told Reuters.
Maradona died on November 25 last year at the age of 60 due to cardiac arrest, after suffering several health problems and having previously undergone cranial surgery.
Among the most expensive goods to be auctioned is a house from the 1980s that Maradona gave to his parents in the Villa Devoto neighbourhood of Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires. It will have a starting price of $900,000.
There are also a number of luxury cars, including a $225,000 BMW 750, which Maradona once drove onto a soccer pitch. The 87 lots include lower-value items such as hats worn by Maradona, pictures of the star, including one with late Cuban leader Fidel Castro, whom he befriended, soccer shoes and T-shirts, a signed guitar and a box of cigars.