Diego Maradona's shirt sells for £7.1MILLION - but where are England's class of '86?

He could never have known it, but when England's midfielder Steve Hodge exchanged shirts with Diego Maradona after England played Argentina in the 1986 World Cup Finals, he was bankrolling his retirement.

Maradona's shirt form that iconic quarter-final match, which saw England eliminated from the competition in Mexico, has now fetched £7.1 million at auction.

The value of the shirt has been inflated because it was worn by Maradona, possibly the greatest player to have ever lived, in a game which saw both one of the most infamous and the most famous goals ever scored.

Ironically, Hodge was involved in the incident that led to the first goal. He was passing the ball back to the goalkeeper, Peter Shilton, before Maradona used his cunning to leap and reach the ball with his hand.

Maradona gave Argentina the lead with his 'Hand of God' goal early in the second half at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City, and ultimately knocked the English out, when he followed that up with the 'Goal of the Century' a few minutes later.

The diminutive striker dribbled round half of the England team before sliding the ball past Shilton.

Despite a late flurry from England, Argentina won the game 2-1 and went on to win the competition.

The auction of Maradona's shirt is a handsome payday for Hodge, 59, who has been in possession of the treasured garment for the last 35 years, although for two decades it has been on display at the Museum of Football in Manchester.

Presumably, Hodge never has to work again if the mood takes him. But what are the rest of the Class of '96' doing now….

Peter Shilton

Goalkeeper

Occupation: Author, media personality

Peter Shilton, 72, has never completely come to terms with Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico in 1986.

The England keeper, who won 125 caps and was captain on the day, praised Maradona as one of the greatest following his death in November 2020, but admitted that goal still saddens him.

Recalling the quarter-final, Shilton told Mail Online following his death: 'None of us expected what happened next. How could we? He challenged me for a high, looping ball, but knew he wouldn't get it with his head, so he punched it into the net. A clear offence. Cheating.'

'As he ran away to celebrate, he even looked back twice, as if waiting for the referee's whistle. He knew what he had done. Everybody did — apart from the referee and two linesmen.'

Shilton amassed 1,005 league appearances in 31-year career, which included two European Cups with Nottingham Forest. But his success on the field masked his struggles off it.

The former keeper suffered a 45-year addiction to gambling. Last year, Shilton and his wife, Steph, whom he married in 2016, published a self-help book for other addicts called, 'Saved'.

The couple have since supported people with gambling problems. As well as writing, Shilton makes appearances as an after-dinner speaker and appears regularly on the media. They now live in Essex.

Gary Stevens

Right back

Occupation: Physiotherapist

An attacking right back, Stevens won two First Division titles in the mid-1980s and a European Cup-Winners' Cup with Everton.

He went on to join Graeme Sourness's eclectic Rangers team and won six consecutive Scottish championships.

Since his retirement, Stevens, 59, has been voted by Everton fans as the club's greatest ever right back. In an illustrious career, at a time when Everton matched rivals Liverpool, Stevens won 46 caps.

When his playing days were over, and following a divorce, Stevens studied for four years for a degree, partly funded by selling memorabilia gathered during his career.

In 2011, he emigrated to Perth in Western Australia, where he met his South African wife, Louise, and he works as a physiotherapist. He admits that occasionally people recognise him, which is a mystery to his children.

Tragedy struck the family in November last year when Stevens' four-year-old son, Jack, lost a battle with a rare form of cancer. The couple also have two older children.

Everton and Stevens' former team mates led the tributes.

Terry Fenwick

Centre-Half

Occupation: Runs football coaching company and media pundit in the Caribbean

A tough-tackling defender Fenwick, whose clubs included, Crystal Palace, Queen's Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur, once blamed Diego Maradona for wrecking his international career in 90 minutes.

The Argentinian talisman left Fenwick for dead in the Azteca stadium that day in1986, as he dribbled around half the England team and Shilton, to score the 'goal of the century'.

Fenwick, 62, who won 20 England caps, later admitted the experience of England's elimination from the World Cup in Mexico following that and the 'Hand of God' goal, left him 'bitter and twisted' for 20 years.

The son of a coal miner from County Durham, Fenwick was a tough lad, but he said he met his match in Maradona. The Englishman clattered Maradona four times in the second half and forced him from the field, but after almost five minutes off the pitch receiving treatment, the Argentinian bounced back and was straight in Fenwick's ear.

'I didn't say two words to him but he was chatting to me from start to finish.' Fenwick told the Press Association.

After his playing days, Fenwick forged a career in management, taking charge of Portsmouth, Northampton Town and non-league Ashford Town, but he found his vocation – and love - in the Caribbean.

The centre-half made his home in Trinidad and Tobago where he has enjoyed managerial success, winning the professional league four times.

Fenwick married Reyna Kowlessar, a Trinidadian lawyer, in January 2014, according to local media. In January 2020 he took over the management of the national team, but after a disappointing spell in charge in which Trinidad and Tobago failed to qualify for the World Cup, his contract was terminated last year.

Fenwick provides Premier League analysis on Caribbean TV and runs a football coaching company. He has said he would like to retired in Trinidad.

Terry Butcher

Centre Back

Occupation: Media Personality... and President of the Trawlerboys

An imposing centre-half, who epitomised the bulldog spirit when in an England jersey, Butcher has now gone full circle in football.

Born in Singapore, the 63-year-old discovered his love for the game in Suffolk on Normanston Park Pitch One with Ashlea Boys Club and at Crown Meadow, the home of Lowestoft Town, nicknamed the Trawlermen.

Butcher signed for Ipswich Town aged 17 and never looked back. He won the UEFA Cup in 1981 with the Tractor Boys, before moving to Rangers, where he bagged three league titles, picking up 77 England caps along the way.

A long career in football management, spanning 28 years, eased into a burgeoning media career and Butcher is a regular TV and radio pundit.

But last year, he went back to where it all began – Crown Meadow – agreeing to become the president of Lowestoft Town, a semi professional outfit in the Southern League.

Attending the club's first game of the season with his dad, Butcher told the Lowestoft Journal: 'it is something I never ever thought about and it is a really nice honour to have. To be recognised and to be asked to become the club president is fantastic and I am keen to help the club and raise the profile.'

Kenny Sansom

Left Back

Occupation: Not known

Arsenal and England legend Kenny Sansom enjoyed a wonderful career as a footballer, but life has been hard for the former left back in the years that have followed.

Sansom has battled an alcohol and gambling addiction since the 1990s, which has soaked up all his money from the game. However, a loving family has brought the veteran of a European Championship, two World Cups and a League Cup winner back from the brink

The 63-year-old tried to confront his problems on many occasions but alcoholism led to the breakdown of his marriage and triggered a sequence of other social issues including homelessness and depression. He has been in and out of hospital.

The crisis came to a head in 2020, when Sansom was left fighting for his life after he was allegedly beaten up in a drunken row. His family were at his bedside at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

While he recovered, Sansom was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disorder. But there was better news in February this year, when The Sun reported the former England star, who has been sober for nearly two years, had posted a wedding picture with daughter Natalie on social media.

He wrote: 'I just wanted to say how proud I was to walk my daughter Natalie down the aisle.'

Sansom won 86 caps for England.

Trevor Steven

Midfield

Occupation: Media pundit and business ambassador

Bracketed with David Beckham for his crossing ability, the talented Trevor Steven won league titles in three countries during his 17-year playing career.

Steven won the French Championnat in 1992 with Marseille, two First Division titles at Everton, in 1985 and 1987 and seven championships at Rangers between 1989 and 1996.

The 58-year-old only spent a year in France with Marseille, which was initially challenging because he could not speak French.

However, he loved it and threw himself into the culture and language, and still speaks French today, which has shaped some of his activity since he hung up his boots in 1997.

Steven, who won 36 caps,  teamed up with a language app aimed at young footballers as they pass through the academy system, to help them play abroad if they choose to.

He has enjoyed an eclectic career after football, working as a business ambassador, public speaker and a media pundit, doing extensive work in the UK and all over the world.

Peter Reid

Midfield

Occupation: Football coach and consultant

Upon hearing the news of the £7m paid for Diego Maradona's Argentina shirt, Peter Reid was quick to post a self-effacing message on social media.

Under a snap of him stood next to Maradona's shirt when it was on display at the Museum of Football in Manchester, Reid wrote: 'I know, closest I got to it.'

'I still have nightmares to this day about the goal Diego Maradona scored against England in 1986,' he wrote in the Daily Mail after the Argentinian's death.

'The legitimate one, that is. I'm running against the wind trying to catch him, I'm covered in sweat, but still, I never catch him.'

Despite making jokes at his own expense, Reid, who was capped 13 times, had an extraordinary career, which spanned 21 years as a player and 24 in football management.

Reid, 65, was another member of the Everton championship winning sides of the 1980s. In fact he was so successful that in 1985 he came fourth in the World Soccer Player of the Year award, behind Michel Platini, Preben Elkjær and Diego Maradona.

As a player, Reid won the FA Cup, the European Cup Winners Cup and two league titles and as a manager he led Sunderland to the First Division title in 1996 and 1999.

His managerial career ended after a brief stint in charge of Mumbai City in the Indian Super League in 2015. He has undertaken some coaching roles since and most recently was appointed as a consultant at Ipswich Town at the beginning of this season, under then manager Paul Cook.

Steve Hodge

Midfield

Occupation: Whatever he chooses to do after netting £7M for Maradina's shirt...?

Whatever Steve Hodge has been doing work-wise since he called time on his 18-year playing career in 1998, it is overshadowed by one brilliant business decision he made in 1986.

Walking down the tunnel at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, eliminated by Argentina, Hodge saw his nemesis, Maradona walking towards him.

Incredibly, given the disappointment and unfairness of England's World Cup exit, Hodge had the presence of mind to ask the world's best player to swap shirts. As we know, that shirt has now netted Hodge £7m at auction.

But it may be Hodge, 59, didn't know what he had. A couple of years after he retired from the game, the ex-pro was on a chat show to discuss the 'Hand of God' goal and show off the shirt. According to the Observer, he arrived with the precious item in a Tesco carrier bag. He was promptly advised to have it insured.

Hodge's playing career included two spells for his home-town club, Nottingham Forest, where he won the League Cup twice, and was part of Leeds United league title winning side in 1992. He won 24 caps for England.

When he finished playing, he was briefly caretaker manager of Notts County and had coaching roles at Meadow Lane and across the River Trent at the City Ground. Presumably, he doesn't have to work again.

Peter Beardsley

Forward

Occupation: Football Coach

When his England career came to an end before Euro 96, a room of journalists gave Peter Beardsley a standing ovation

The super-talented attacking midfielder had put in good shift for his country, winning 59 caps and representing England at two World Cups and a European Championship.

He had a spectacular club career in England, the US and Australia, playing 735 league games, including at Newcastle United, Everton and Liverpool, where he won two league titles and an FA Cup.

Following his playing career, Beardsley became a coach with Newcastle United, rising to take charge of the reserves from 2014-2018, but it ended in disgrace.

Beardsley, 61, was suspended from football for seven months in 2019 after being found guilty of racially abusing Newcastle United's young black players.

According to the local publication, Newcastle World, Beardsley has been running soccer schools and holiday clubs around the city in recent years.

He was reportedly interested in returning to management with the Northern Premier League side, Hebburn Town in April, but he was not appointed.

Glen Hoddle

Midfield

Occupation: Media personality

One of the most talented players of his generation, Glen Hoddle was capped 53 times for England and went on to manage his country for three years.

Known for his excellent passing ability, Hoddle won two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup with Tottenham and the French League title with Monaco.

Hoddle has made the transition smoothly from football player, to manager, to media personality.

He suffered a setback in 1999, when in an interview with The Times, it was claimed he had suggested disabled people and others are being punished for sins in a former life. Hoddle said his comments had been misinterpreted, but a the controversy led to him being sacked from the England job.

However, Hoddle, 64, returned to football management with Southampton a year later and went on to set up the Glenn Hoddle Football Academy, to help young players make it into the professional game and developed extensive media career.

Gary Lineker

Forward

Occupation: TV Sports Presenter

One of England's greatest strikers, there are no prizes for guessing what Gary Lineker does now.

In a 16-year playing career, which took in Leicester City, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona, Lineker won 80 caps for England, scoring 48 goals.

It was of course Lineker who pulled a goal back for England against Argentina in the World Cup quarter final.

With John Barnes and Glenn Hoddle pulling the strings, England rallied late in the game and Lineker headed home with nine minutes to go.

But despite further chances, England could not force an equaliser and the team went out of the tournament. Remarkably, given England went home at the quarter final stage, Lineker still won the tournament's Golden Boot with six goals.

Following his retirement from football in 1994, Lineker has forged a spectacular media career, anchoring BBC sports coverage, including Match of the Day, game shows, TV series and the Sports Personality of the Year.

Lineker, 61, remains the BBC's top earner despite agreeing to a pay cut of just under £400,000. According to the corporation's annual report, Lineker, earned £1.36m in the 2020-21 financial year, down from £1.75m.

The Argentinian Team

In the years that followed England's defeat in the 1986 World Cup quarter final, members of the Argentinian team have suffered tragedy, with three of the starting 11 already dead.

Central defender, Jose Luis Brown, who went on to score in the final against West Germany, which Argentina won 3-2, managed a host of clubs before retiring from the game in 2013. Sadly, Brown died, aged 63, as a result of Alzheimer's disease in August 2019.

Brown's defensive partner in the 1986 tournament, José Luis Cuciuffo, also died, in 2004, in a hunting accident, near Buenos Aires. He was killed by a gunshot wound to the stomach, according to local media. He was 43.

However, midfielder Sergio Batista went on to have a successful managerial career, leading Argentina to Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008. The team included Lionel Messi, Angel di Maria, Javier Mascherano and Sergio Aguero.

Meanwhile, Jorge Luis Burruchaga, an attacking midfield player, who scored the winning goal in the 1986 final, stayed in the game longer than most.

After a lengthy playing career, he did another 14 years in management in domestic football, before supporting the national side as the general manager in 2018 World Cup. Argentina were knocked out 4-3 in the round of 16 by the eventual winners France.

Hector Enrique, a midfielder, was the last man to touch the ball inside the Argentinian half, before Maradona set off on 'Goal of the Century' dribble. After the game Enrique joked the pass was so good Maradona could not miss, a quip that turned him into a national treasure.

Enrique's popularity has endured and he appeared on the Argentinian version of Celebrity MasterChef last year.

Forward Jorge Valdano has been more successful than many of his team mates, he went on to play for Real Madrid, where he won La Liga twice, and later to manage them, winning La Liga again. He became the director general at the Bernabeu, leaving in 2011 after he reportedly fell out with then boss, Jose Mourinho.

An author on the business of football, Valdano is a commentator for BEIN Sports and is nicknamed 'The Philosopher of Football'.

Finally, Maradona himself died in November 2020. The football legend, 60, suffered a heart attack at home just two weeks after he was released from hospital following surgery for a bleed on his brain.

Maradona will always be remembered as a flawed genius. One of the greatest players to ever grace the game, but with a lethal dependency on alcohol and cocaine.

When he died, celebrated Daily Mail sportswriter, Jeff Powell, wrote an obituary, in which he reminded English football fans to look beyond the controversy of that goal and that game.

'The facile tendency in England to vilify Maradona as nothing more than the culprit in the handball goal which helped defeat Bobby Robson's brigade in the World Cup quarter-finals of Mexico 86 does no justice to one of the most gifted sportsmen of all time,' said Powell.