The football Diego Maradona used to score the controversial “Hand of God” goal against England in the 1986 World Cup was sold for $3.35 million at an auction in the United States this August [1, 2, 3]. The sale took place through a Dallas-based auction house, which set the starting price at $2.5 million [1].
Maradona scored the disputed goal on June 22, 1986, during the quarter-final match between Argentina and England at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City [1, 2, 3]. He later described the moment as “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God” [1, 2, 3]. Argentina went on to win the match 2-1 and claimed their second World Cup title by beating West Germany 3-2 in the final [2, 3].
In the same match, Maradona also scored a second goal, a solo effort that was later voted the “Goal of the Century” [1, 2, 3].
The ball, an Adidas Azteca, was originally kept by the match referee Tunisian Ali Bin Nasser after the game. It has changed hands several times in auctions. It was first sold in 2022 for $2.37 million, then unsuccessfully offered for resale in 2023 before the recent successful sale [2, 3].
Despite pre-auction estimates valuing the ball at around $10 million, the final sale price of $3.35 million (about 1.1 billion Taiwanese dollars) fell significantly below expectations [1, 2, 3]. In comparison, Maradona’s 1986 match jersey fetched a record-breaking £7.1 million in a 2022 auction [2, 3].
Mike Provenzale, a representative connected to the auction, called the ball “a truly unique collectible, arguably the most iconic football memorabilia in existence” [2].
The ball’s sale marks the latest chapter in the trading of historic football artifacts related to Maradona, who passed away in 2020 at age 60 [1].
