Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' football sells for £2.5m
The football with which Diego Maradona scored his famous 'hand of God' goal at the 1986 World Cup has sold at auction for £2.5m.
Maradona famously punched the ball past goalkeeper Peter Shilton in Argentina's 2-1 quarter-final win over England. After the game, he told reporters it had been scored "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God". He later scored what became known as the 'goal of the century' in the same game.
Though it sold for $3.3m (£2.5m) at Heritage Auctions in the United States on Saturday, the ball had been expected to fetch nearer $10m (£7.3m).
Mike Provenzale, a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, described the ball as "a true one-of-one item. Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists."
Tunisian Ali Bin Nasser, who refereed the match in 1986, collected the Adidas Azteca ball at full-time and kept it for over three decades. In 2023, he signed a letter confirming its authenticity as the only ball used during the match, further corroborated by independent authentication.
Bin Nasser sold the ball in 2022 for $2.37m (£1.74m). Its new owner attempted to sell it again in 2023 but bids did not meet the minimum value set.
The shirt worn by Maradona during the same match sold for £7.1m at auction in 2022.