The heirs of Diego Armando Maradona will try to slow down the auction ready to put up for sale the Ballon d'Or won by the Argentine champion as best player at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

The trophy, recently rediscovered after disappearing for decades under unexplained circumstances, will be sold to the highest bidder next month at the French auction house Agoutte , which says on its web page that the object belongs to a " private collection ."

According to Maradona's heirs, including daughters Dalma and Gianina and ex-wife Veronica Ojeda, the 1986 Ballon d'Or had been stolen from a safety deposit box at the Banco di Napoli . And therefore whoever found it, according to the heirs, would have no right to sell it. The trophy, found on 28 January 2016 by a former Franco-Argentine gallery owner, who only obtained confirmation of its authenticity last 2 April, however has several scratches and is missing the tag, and therefore its ownership is doubtful.

Gilles Moreu, lawyer of the Paradox law firm contracted by the heirs of "El Diez", declared that he will present an urgent appeal to the president of the Nanterra court near Paris, to withdraw the Golden Ball from the auction , which for the object it was estimated between 12 and 15 million euros.

The objective of Maradona's family is, at the moment, to freeze the sale while waiting for the ownership to be clarified.

(Unioneonlin/vl)

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