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

The Sale

The ball with which Diego Maradona scored his famous 'Hand of God' goal at the 1986 World Cup has sold at auction for £2.5m ($3.3m). The sale took place at Heritage Auctions in the United States on Saturday, as reported by BBC and NewsBytes. Sports Illustrated, however, put the final price at $3.35 million, a slight discrepancy from the $3.3m cited by the other outlets.

The ball had been expected to fetch nearer $10m (£7.3m), according to Heritage Auctions' predictions, as reported by BBC and Sports Illustrated. The auction house had described the ball as "the most famous ball in the history" of any sport, according to Sports Illustrated.

The Match and the Goals

The ball was used in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal between Argentina and England. Maradona scored his first goal by punching the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton in the 51st minute, giving Argentina a 1-0 lead, as reported by BBC, NewsBytes, and Sports Illustrated. After the match, Maradona told reporters the goal was scored "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God," a quote reported by both BBC and NewsBytes. In his autobiography, Maradona later wrote: "B------- was it the 'Hand of God.' It was the hand of Diego! And it felt a little bit like pickpocketing the English," as quoted by Sports Illustrated.

Four minutes later, Maradona scored his second goal with the same ball, dribbling past five England outfield players before scoring. That goal came to be known as the 'goal of the century,' as reported by BBC and NewsBytes. Sports Illustrated noted that Uruguayan commentator Víctor Hugo Morales called Maradona a "cosmic kite" during his radio coverage of that goal. Maradona reflected on the second goal, saying, "It is a dream goal. When I was in Fiorito I used to dream of scoring a goal like that on the little makeshift pitch, for Estrella Roja, and I did it in a World Cup, for my country." He also admitted, "Sometimes I think I almost enjoyed that one more, the first one," as quoted by Sports Illustrated.

Argentina went on to win the match 2-1, as reported by BBC, NewsBytes, and Sports Illustrated. Some critics argued Maradona should have received a yellow card for the handball, according to NewsBytes.

The Ball's Journey

The Adidas Azteca ball was collected at full-time by the referee, Tunisian Ali Bin Nasser, who kept it for more than three decades, as reported by BBC, NewsBytes, and Sports Illustrated. In 2023, Bin Nasser signed a letter confirming the ball was the only one used during the match, a claim that was backed by independent authentication, according to BBC and NewsBytes.

Bin Nasser sold the ball in 2022 for $2.37m (£1.74m), as reported by BBC, NewsBytes, and Sports Illustrated. The new owner put it up for auction again in 2023, but it did not sell because bids did not meet the minimum value, according to BBC and NewsBytes.

Mike Provenzale, a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, said before the sale, "It's a true one-of-one item. Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists," as quoted by BBC and NewsBytes. Provenzale's full quote was attributed by BBC to a Reuters interview.

Context and Comparisons

The shirt worn by Maradona during the same match sold for £7.1m at auction in 2022, as reported by BBC and NewsBytes. Sports Illustrated reported the shirt sold for $9.3 million in May 2022. Sports Illustrated also noted that six of Lionel Messi's match-worn jerseys from the 2022 World Cup sold for $7.8 million in December 2023, and Babe Ruth's jersey from 1932 sold for $24.1 million, making it the most expensive sports memorabilia ever sold. Sports Illustrated framed the ball's sale as falling short of its valuation and the record for sports memorabilia, attributing the shortfall to a failure to capitalize on World Cup hype and the timing of the auction after Argentina's defeat to Spain.