The ball Diego Maradona punched past England’s Peter Shilton for his 1986 “Hand of God” goal has sold for $3.3 million, well short of a $10 million pre-auction estimate.
Maradona scored the goal in Argentina’s 2-1 World Cup quarter-final win over England, later telling reporters it had gone in “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.” Four minutes later he added the “Goal of the Century,” dribbling past five England outfield players before beating Shilton again.
The ball sold at Heritage Auctions in the United States on Saturday, August 22. “It’s a true one-of-one item. Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists,” specialist auctioneer Mike Provenzale said ahead of the sale.
Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser, who took charge of the 1986 match, collected the Adidas Azteca ball at full time and held onto it for 36 years before first selling it in 2022 for $2.37 million. A resale attempt in 2023 fell through when bids failed to meet the reserve price. That same year, Bin Nasser signed a letter confirming it was the only ball used throughout the match, a claim since backed by independent authentication.
Even at $3.3 million, the ball trails Maradona’s shirt from the same game, which sold for a record $9.28 million (£7.1 million) at Sotheby’s in 2022. It also falls short of the highest price ever paid for a sports ball: Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run baseball, which sold for $4.39 million.
