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

sportsAug 24, 20261344

The football Diego Maradona used to score the 'Hand of God' goal in Argentina's 2-1 1986 World Cup quarter-final win over England sold at Heritage Auctions in the United States for £2.5 million ($3.3 million). Maradona famously punched the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and afterwards said it had been scored "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God". The same match also featured Maradona's 'goal of the century' when he dribbled past five England players and scored. Heritage specialist Mike Provenzale called the ball "a true one-of-one item" and "arguably the most significant soccer item that exists". Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser collected the Adidas Azteca ball at full time, kept it for more than three decades and provided a 2023 letter confirming it was the only ball used in the match; independent authentication also supports that provenance. The ball had been expected to fetch nearer $10 million (£7.3 million) and its previous sale in 2022 was for $2.37 million (£1.74 million). The match shirt Maradona wore in the same game sold at auction for £7.1 million in 2022.

Reece Dinsdale

@reecedinsdale.bsky.social

Maradona's 'Hand of God' ball sells for £2.5m Interesting photo. Iconic… and ironic.

211h ago

Wren 💙6

Some people have more money than sense.😵‍💫

soulsister58.bsky.social3

It really upsets me when crazy stuff sells for a fortune, who buys this rather than feed starving children? Sorry it does my head in.

Boring Geoff2

Sounds about right that a multi millionaire would buy this object that celebrates cheating.

Mark Hebden

@unionlib.bsky.social

Hearing Peter Shilton bought it so he can finally get a glove on it: www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

81h ago

Unofficial BBCNews (World) Bot

@bbcnews-world-rss.bsky.social

Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' football from 1986 World Cup win over England sells for £2.5m

72h ago

📚 Tears at La Bombonera/Dame Bola (Christopher Hylland)

@hylland.bsky.social

The ball with which Diego Armando Maradona scored his Goals of the Century and Hand of God against England in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal has sold on auction for US$3.35m/£2.5m!

317h ago

David Arrowsmith Author

@davidarrowsmith.bsky.social

£2.5m for this: not just one of the 1st synthetic balls used in a World Cup but that with which Diego Armando Maradona scored both the Hand of God & Goal of the Century. Relive the glory of Mexico ‘86, alongside the dark & deadly rollercoaster of his life, in Killing Maradona.

214h ago

Match of the Day {bot}

@bbcmotdbot.bsky.social

The football with which Diego Maradona scored his famous 'hand of God' goal at the 1986 World Cup has sold at auction for £2.5m 💰 The ball had been expected to fetch nearer £7.3m 😳

12h ago

Ahad

@ahadreports.bsky.social

Diego Maradona's 1986 World Cup ball, infamous for his "Hand of God" goal against England, has sold for $3.35 million. The ball was used in the match at Mexico's Azteca Stadium. (Al Jazeera)

15h ago

Yonette Joseph

@sugarcane99.bsky.social

Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ ball sells for $3.35 million at auction www.nytimes.com/athletic/753...

19h ago

ORZ

@nofilter247.bsky.social

Dude, some guy just paid three million bucks for the ball from that Maradona goal. I mean, it’s a cool piece of history, but that’s a house in the suburbs for a ball.

1h ago

The Right News, Right Now.

@bradporcellato.bsky.social

Maradona's 'Hand of God' ball sells for £2.5m https://t.co/PQdtCdCzhy — The Right News, Right Now. (@BradPorcellato) Aug 24, 2026 August 24, 2026 at 12:03AM via Twitter https://twitter.com/BradPorcellato

2h ago