Maradona’s ‘Hand Of God’ Ball Sells For £2.5m At Auction

The football with which Diego Maradona scored his infamous “Hand of God” goal against England has sold at auction for £2.5m, The Telegraph reports.

But it failed to surpass the record £7.1m paid four years ago for the shirt worn by the Argentina captain in the same World Cup game in which he also scored the so-called “goal of the century”.

The ball had been expected to fetch nearer $10m (£7.3m) at Heritage Auctions in the United States on Saturday but instead sold for $3.3m (£2.5m).

Speaking before the auction, Mike Provenzale, a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, said: “It’s a true one-of-one item. Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists.”

It was during Argentina’s 1986 2-1 World Cup quarter-final win against England that Maradona punched the ball past goalkeeper Peter Shilton to open the scoring. Despite furious protests from opposition players, Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser allowed the goal to stand.

Also Read: Why Maradona Did Not Sign For Tottenham —Man United Legend

After the game, Maradona told reporters it had been scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”.

Four minutes later, Maradona scored what became known as the “goal of the century”, collecting the ball in his own half, before dribbling past five England players and slotting the ball past Shilton.

At full time, Bin Nasser collected the Adidas Azteca ball and went on to keep it for more than three decades. He sold it four years ago for $2.37m (£1.74m). Its new owner put it up for auction again the following year, but bids did not meet the minimum value set.

That same year, Bin Nasser signed a letter testifying it was the only ball used during the match, which was confirmed by further independent authentication.

The shirt worn by Maradona sold for £7.1m at auction in 2022, a record for an item of football memorabilia.

Maradona had swapped the shirt after the game with England midfielder Steve Hodge.