Diego Maradona's earring, confiscated by the tax authorities, has been sold at auction for €25,000.
Maradona has been playing a strange game of cat and mouse with Italy's authorities based on an extraordinary €37m tax bill resulting from his time playing for Italian club Napoli. The authorities cannot charge him with tax evasion, as the too much time has passed since the original tax loss.
Nevertheless, they are determined to make an example of Maradona as they believe that to allow him to visit Italy without making every effort to regain the money owed would make a mockery of the tax system.
The earring, which consists of a white diamond set in white gold, started the auction with an estimate of €4,000, but as we predicted this proved to have little connection with reality and excited bidders quickly pressed the price up to several times this, with the piece finally selling for €25,000.
The winning bidder gave a short statement to say that she was satisfied with his purchase then punched the air whilst leaving the auction room accompanied by her bodyguard.
A famous previous owner can add a great deal to the value of collectibles, including jewellery, as with Lady Houston's pearls which sold last year.
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