The football that Diego Maradona famously punched into the back of England’s net during the 1986 World Cup has sold for around €2.9 million.
The ‘Hand of God’ is one of the most iconic moments in football history, seeing Maradona reach his hand above goalkeeper Peter Shilton’s and score Argentina’s first goal in their 2-1 quarter-final victory.
The referee completely missed the handball, presuming that Maradona had scored the goal with his head.
After the game, the Argentinian legend told reporters that the goal had been scored ‘a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God’.
Later in the same game, Maradona also scored what became known as the ‘goal of the century’, dribbling past five England players before slotting the ball past Shilton.
While the ball from the match sold for $3.3million (€2.9m) at Heritage Auctions in the US on Saturday, it had been expected to reach nearly $10million (€8.6m).
Mike Provenzale, a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, spoke highly about the football ahead of the auction.
He told Reuters: ‘It’s a true one-of-one item. Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists.’
After full-time in 1986, the ball went home with Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser, who kept it for more than three decades.
In 2023, the referee confirmed the ball’s authentication by signing a letter stating that it was the only one used in the match.
Bin Nasser sold the ball the year before for $2.37 million (€2m) and its new owner swiftly put it up for auction, though it did not sell as bids did not meet the minimum value set.
Maradona’s shirt from the match was also auctioned off in 2022, selling for £7.1 million (€8.3m).
The football icon passed away on November 25, 2020, at the age of 60, after suffering heart failure.
He had been recovering at his home in Tigre at the time, following successful surgery on a brain blood clot earlier that month.
However, a retrial into his death was launched earlier this year after his medical team were accused of failing to administer proper medical care, with seven people being tried for culpable homicide.
