In brief
Diego Maradona’s legendary football from the 1986 World Cup quarter‑final, in which he famously scored the ‘Hand of God’ goal, fetched £2.5 million at a Heritage Auctions sale in the United States. The ball was expected to reach £7.3 million; instead it sold for $3.3 million. The ball had been owned by referee Ali Bin Nasser since the match and had previously sold for $2.37 million. The auctioneer hailed it as a truly unique piece of sporting history. Maradona’s shirt from the same match also sold for £7.1 million in 2022.
The ball that carried Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal in the 1986 FIFA World Cup quarter‑final is now in a new hands after selling for £2.5 million at a Heritage Auctions event in the United States.
Maradona famously nudged the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton in a 2-1 victory, famously describing the play as “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.” That same match also produced the world‑wide celebrated “goal of the century.”
While the ball was projected to reach a price near £7.3 million, it closed at $3.3 million (£2.5 million). “It is a true one‑of‑one item. The most significant soccer item that exists,” said Mike Provenzale, the auctioneer who oversaw the sale.
The ball initially came into the hands of referee Tunisian Ali Bin Nasser, who collected it after the match and retained it for more than three decades. Bin Nasser sold it in 2022 for $2.37 million (£1.74 million); the ball had been put up again for auction in 2023 but did not meet the reserve price.
Maradona’s match shirt, likewise, sold for £7.1 million in 2022, further underscoring the era’s massive material value.
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