Diego Maradona's Golden Ball trophy from the 1986 World Cup, which had been missing for decades, has resurfaced and will be auctioned in Paris next month, the Aguttes house has said.

Maradona, who died in 2020 at age 60, was awarded the trophy for his scintillating play at the tournament, where he captained Argentina in its 3-2 win over West Germany in the final in Mexico City.

Before that, he scored the controversial "Hand of God" goal and the "Goal of the Century" in a 2-1 win over England in the quarterfinals.

The auction house said it expects the trophy "to fetch millions due to its uniqueness".

Maradona received the award — given to the tournament's best player — at a ceremony at the Lido cabaret on the Champs-Élysées in 1986. It subsequently disappeared, giving rise to rumours.

Some say it was lost during a wild poker game, or sold to pay off debts, Aguttes said.

Others said Maradona had stored it in a safe in a Naples bank that was robbed by local gangsters in 1989, when he played in the Italian league. According to the story told by a reformed member of the mafia, the trophy was then melted down into gold pieces.

"A far-fetched theory, given that it was made of a gold-copper alloy," Aguttes said in its auction catalogue.