A long-forgotten container with hundreds of memorabilia from the career of late soccer legend Diego Maradona could provide a treasure trove for collectors and open a new front in the contest over his estate.

The container had been in storage on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

The booty could turbocharge the legal battles under way over the spoils of an estate that Forbes magazine estimated was worth between $10 million and $40 million. Maradona has five recognised children and six others with claims to be his offspring.

“Inside the container there are historic boots and shirts, a letter signed by Fidel Castro and two safes,” Mario Baudry, the lawyer representing Maradona’s son Dieguito Fernando, said.

“Diego asked me to find the container and said that everything in it was for Dieguito,” he added.