Where is the Jules Rimet trophy?

It was designed and modeled in France in 1929 before travelling all over the world over the next 54 years. Jules Rimet himself stipulated that the trophy should be given in perpetuity to the first team to win it three times. 

Brazil achieved just that in 1970 and the trophy made its way to south America. It has survived so much in its history, including the Nazis, but after being stolen in Rio in 1983, it has never been seen again. 

Having been won by Italy in 1938, the trophy was in Rome when war broke out in Europe only a year later. The world of football owes a huge debt to Ottorino Barassi, the head of the Italian FA at the time, who had the trophy secretly transported from a bank vault in Rome to his own personal residence. Hitler however followed the trail and searched the property, but the Germans did not go as far as looking in the shoe box under the bed in which it was hidden. 

The Trophy resurfaced for the 1950 World Cup, but the next episode in its history comes in 1966. On display at a stamp exhibition in Westminster, the trophy was stolen four months before the World Cup in England. It was a deeply embarassing episode for the Metropolitan Police and the FA, who evidently judged that the trophy only needed to be checked on once an hour. 

It was found seven days later, after a series of hoax phone calls and false ransom demands. Where was it found? In a hedge. Who found it? Pickles, a dog. 

FIFA had expressly forbidden any replicas of the trophy ever being made, but the FA comissioned one in secret as a security measure following this scare. This replica was also never seen for years and spent most of its life under its creator's bed. 

The original trophy was then taken back to Brazil after their triumph in Mexico 1970, where it was on display at the headquarters of the Brazilian football confederation. The front of the cabinet was made of bullet proof glass, but on December 19th 1983, the wooden rear to the exhibit was opened with a crowbar and the trophy stolen once again. 35 years later and no one is any the wiser to where it might be. Four men were tried in absentia for the theft.

The replica trophy was bought at auction by FIFA for a staggering £​254,000 in 1997, after rumours swirled that the English had made a switch in 1966 and kept the original trophy for themselves. The requisite tests were done and it was found that the replica was no more than a replica. 

So what became of the original? The commonly held belief is that it was melted down for gold and sold on, but there are holes in this story - the trophy was not made of solid gold for one thing. It could be back under someone's bed, it could be dropped in a bush waiting to be picked up but it stands to reason that any Brazilian football fan could not bring themselves to destroy it. 

After the trophy was stolen in England, Abrain Tebel, head of the Brazilian FA said the following: "It would never have happened in Brazil. Even Brazilian thieves love football and would never commit this sacrilege." You can't help but think he tempted fate.