The football used by Diego Maradona to score his infamous “Hand of God” goal against England at the 1986 World Cup has sold for $3.3 million at auction in the United States.
The Adidas Azteca ball was used during Argentina’s 2-1 quarter-final victory over England in Mexico. Maradona punched the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton to give Argentina the lead, BBC reports.
After the match, Maradona famously described the goal as being scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”.
Maradona later scored another goal in the same match that became known as the “goal of the century”, dribbling past five England outfield players before beating Shilton.
The ball was sold by Heritage Auctions on Saturday for $3.3 million, below its pre-auction estimate of around $10 million.
“It’s a true one-of-one item. Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists,” Mike Provenzale, a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, told Reuters before the sale.
Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser collected the ball after the match and kept it for more than three decades. In 2023, he signed a letter confirming that it was the only ball used during the game, a claim later supported by independent authentication.
Bin Nasser initially sold the ball in 2022 for $2.37 million. It was offered at auction again in 2023 but failed to sell after bids did not reach the minimum price.
The shirt Maradona wore during the match sold for £7.1 million at auction in 2022.
By Sabina Mammadli
