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The football used by Diego Maradona when he scored his infamous “Hand of God” goal against England at the 1986 World Cup has sold for $3.35 million (€2.9m) at auction.
The Adidas Azteca ball was sold by Heritage Auctions in Texas, but despite its place in World Cup and footballing folklore, the final price fell well short of its presale estimate of $10 million (€8.6m).
Heritage auctioneer Mike Provenzale described it to Reutersbefore the sale as a “true one-of-a-kind item” and “arguably the most significant soccer item that exists”.
The most controversial goal in football history
Maradona, who died in 2020, scored the controversial goal during Argentina’s World Cup quarter-final against England at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium. What initially appeared to be a header was revealed in slow-motion replays to show Maradona using his hand to punch the ball over England goalkeeper Peter Shilton.
The referee, Tunisian Ali Ben Nasser (who once owned the ball in question), did not spot the handball and allowed the goal to stand.
“As per FIFA’s instructions issued before the tournament, I looked to my linesman for confirmation of the validity of the goal – he made his way back to the halfway line indicating he was satisfied that the goal should stand,” Nasser has said.
He added: “At the end of the match, the England head coach Bobby Robson said to me, ‘You did a good job, but the linesman was irresponsible.’”
Maradona famously described it as being scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”. He would later admit to deliberately handling the ball, calling the goal a form of “symbolic revenge” against the UK after his home country’s defeat in the 1982 Falklands War.
Just four minutes after the “Hand of God” goal, Maradona scored again without the needed for any divine intervention. He collected the ball in his own half and dribbled past almost the entire English team before finding the net, in a goal later voted FIFA’s “Goal of the Century”.
Argentina won the match 2–1 en route to winning their second World Cup.
The Adidas Azteca ball was first put up for auction in 2022. Bidding reached $2.37 million (€2m), but the reserve was not met. The ball was later offered at auction again in 2023 but failed to sell again.
The latest sale is also well below the $9.3 million (€8m) paid for Maradona’s shirt from the same match at Sotheby’s in 2022. At the time, it became the highest price ever paid at an auction for a piece of sports memorabilia.
The ball also missed out on the record for the most expensive sports ball. That currently belongs to Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home-run ball, which sold for $4.39 million (€3.8m) in 2025.