Maradona's 'Hand of God' ball sells for £2.5m

Diego Maradona's infamous "Hand of God" goal football, which he scored during Argentina's 1986 World Cup quarter-final victory over England, has been auctioned for £2.5m. The ball, which famously punched past goalkeeper Peter Shilton, was previously sold in 2022 for $3.3m (£2.5m). Maradona himself described the strike as being "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God."

After the game, the ball was collected by Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser, who kept it for over three decades before selling it in 2022. Despite the low sale price at the previous auction, the ball was expected to fetch a much higher sum, with an auctioneer at Heritage Auctions in the U.S. stating it was "a true one-of-one item" and arguably the most significant soccer item that exists.