Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ ball sells for £2.5m

The football that Diego Maradona used to score his infamous 'hand of God' goal during Argentina's 2-1 quarter-final victory over England at the 1986 World Cup has been auctioned for £2.5 million. The Argentine legend famously used both his head and his hand to score the goal, which he later described as "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God".

Maradona continued his impressive performance in the same match by scoring what is now known as the 'goal of the century' - a dazzling dribble past five England players before finding the back of the net. The ball fetched $3.3 million (£2.5 million) at Heritage Auctions in the United States on Saturday, although it had been expected to command a higher price of around $10 million (£7.3 million).

Prior to the auction, Mike Provenzale, a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, praised the item as "a true one-of-one item. Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists". Ali Bin Nasser, a Tunisian referee who officiated the 1986 match, held onto the Adidas Azteca ball after the game for over three decades before selling it in 2022 for $2.37 million (£1.74 million).

The ball's authenticity has been confirmed by further independent authentication, and Bin Nasser documented his ownership in a letter to the auction house. Despite a second auction attempt in 2023 that failed to meet the minimum bid, the shirt worn by Maradona during the same match sold for £7.1 million at auction in 2022.