A scuffed, faded, and long-deflated piece of sporting history has fetched £2.5 million at Heritage Auctions in the United States. The ball, an Adidas Azteca unsuited to modern play, holds singular importance on the global sporting stage: it is the very football with which the late Argentine maestro Diego Maradona executed his infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal.
The historic quarter-final between Argentina and England at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico remains one of the most politically charged and electrifying encounters in football history. Played at the sun-drenched Estadio Azteca in Mexico City against the backdrop of lingering tensions from the 1982 Falklands War, the match secured Maradona’s legacy as both a sporting genius and an arch-provocateur.
Six minutes into the second half, Maradona chased a looped clearance inside the penalty area and leapt against England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. Shielded from the referee’s direct line of sight, the diminutive Argentine used his left fist to punch the ball over Shilton and into the back of the net. Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser allowed the goal to stand amidst furious protests from English defenders. When questioned about the contentious strike during his post-match press conference, Maradona immortalised the moment by remarking that the ball had gone in “a little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God.”
Barely four minutes later, with the exact same ball at his feet, Maradona orchestrated a moment of sheer brilliance that FIFA later designated the ‘Goal of the Century’. Collecting possession inside his own half, he turned sharply, embarked on an astonishing 60-yard sprint, outpaced five bewildered English defenders, and rounded Shilton once more to slot home Argentina’s second. Argentina went on to win the fixture 2-1 and eventually lifted the trophy.
Following the final whistle, Bin Nasser retained the match ball as a personal keepsake, preserving it for more than three decades. The referee signed a letter of authenticity confirming that this specific ball had been used throughout the entire ninety minutes, an era before multi-ball systems became standard practice.
The ball first went under the hammer in 2022, securing £1.74 million from Bin Nasser’s collection. A subsequent attempt to auction the artefact in 2023 failed after bidding fell short of the reserve price. While the latest £2.5 million sale fell short of the auction house’s loftiest five-million-pound valuation targets, it solidifies the ball’s status as one of the most valuable pieces of sports memorabilia ever sold. For comparison, the blue Argentina shirt Maradona wore during the same match commanded £7.1 million at a London auction in 2022.
