It has been speculated that Diego Maradona's shirt could set a new record for the most expensive item of sports memorabilia ever sold at auction ©Sotheby's

The "Hand of God" shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored an iconic brace versus England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup has gone on sale.

The £4 million ($5.2 million/€4.7 million) reserve price has already been met, with auction house Sotheby's still accepting bids for two more weeks.

It has been speculated that the shirt could set a new record for the most expensive item of sports memorabilia ever sold at auction.

That benchmark belongs to the historic manuscript in which Baron Pierre de Coubertin laid out plans to revive the Olympic Games.

Alisher Usmanov, the Uzbek-Russian billionaire who was President of the International Fencing Federation until stepping aside after being hit with international sanctions related to the invasion of Ukraine, bought that item for $8,806,500 (£6,764,543/€7,916,191) in December 2019.

Usmanov later donated it to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

Maradona's family have claimed the Argentina legend changed shirts at the interval of the quarter-final versus England, and that the shirt actually worn when he scored the brace is elsewhere, but Sotheby's has dismissed such claims and insisted that "scientific research" had proven it is the correct item.

Former England international Steve Hodge has put the shirt up for sale and acquired it following the full-time whistle at the Estadio Azteca.

Diego Maradona's brace versus England mixed sublime skill with a win-at-all-costs approach ©Getty Images
Diego Maradona's brace versus England mixed sublime skill with a win-at-all-costs approach ©Getty Images

Maradona's first goal was highly contentious and should not have stood, as he diverted the ball into the England net with his hand.

The goal has come to be known as the Hand of God.

Maradona's second was a sublime solo effort fewer than five minutes later, regarded as one of the finest goals in World Cup history as he dribbled past several England players before scoring.

Argentina won the quarter-final 2-1 and went on to win the tournament, led by Maradona.

Maradona was named the best player of the 1986 World Cup and it was the high point of a career many regard as the greatest in the history of football.

It also featured two drugs bans, as well as lifting league titles in Italy, Spain and Argentina.

To add further divisiveness to the Hand of God legend, the quarter-final took place only four years after Argentina and England fought on opposing sides in the Falklands War - a conflict which killed more than 900.

Maradona died in November 2020 aged 60.

The auction is due to close on May 4.