Spanish club Celta Vigo have called on Madonna and their club fans to help them end their 36-year search to find the team jersey that the global icon wore during her concert at their Balaidos stadium in 1990.
Madonna’s show on July 29 1990 in Vigo marked the first major international concert in the city and was one of the last stops on the pop star’s Blond Ambition European tour.
The LaLiga outfit said it wants to recover the “unique and irreplaceable garment” to add it to its historical archives.
“That night, the artist donned a Celta Vigo jersey with [former Celta defender Jose Manuel] Espinosa’s number 5 on the back,” a club statement said.
“This moment, captured by photographer Víctor de las Heras, became an iconic image in the history of the club and the city. After the performance, the jersey vanished, its whereabouts unknown ever since. Celta Vigo has now revealed that it had been searching for it privately for years, but the investigation stalled.
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“Thirty-six years later, the club is launching an appeal to all Celta Vigo fans to help locate the jersey, with the intention of adding it to its historical archives. For Celta Vigo, it is a unique and irreplaceable garment that forms part of its emotional heritage. For this reason, the club would appreciate any relevant information regarding the whereabouts of the shirt Madonna wore on stage at Balaídos. The following link has been provided to receive any information related to the garment.”
Celta president Marián Mouriño has also written an open letter asking Madonna for her help while explaining why that jersey means so much to the club.
“Your image with our shirt has become a myth and is part of the history of Celta that is also written off the pitch,” she wrote.
“Many see all this as a simple anecdote. But I like to think that nothing happens by chance. Although it was not the only shirt you wore on stage, that image began to shine in a different way over the years. Because we understand better what you defended back then: questioning the established and standing up to those who try to tell you what you can or cannot do.
“At the club that I preside over, we recognize ourselves in that way of being in the world.”
In the letter, Mouriño said her club will “dedicate a gesture of affection” to Madonna ahead of Friday’s home league game against Real Madrid with the intention of asking the singer: “Do you have it? If you know where it might be or want to help us, please contact us by private message.”