Maradona Hand of God ball may fetch $10m, auctioneer says

The ball Diego Maradona used to score Argentina's “Hand of God” goal against England at the 1986 World Cup may sell for $10 million at a United States auction this month, Heritage Auctions says.

The Texas-based auction house has set a $2.5 million opening bid and plans to offer the ball from August 21 to 23.

Maradona used the ball in Argentina's 2-1 quarter-final win at the Estadio Azteca. He punched it past the England goalkeeper for the first goal, then later used the same ball for the goal often called the “Goal of the Century,” dribbling past several England defenders before scoring, Heritage Auctions vice president Dan Imler told AFP.

After the match, Maradona said the first goal was scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.” Argentina went on to win the World Cup.

Imler called it “easily the most historic ball in the realm of soccer.” Maradona died in November 2020. The shirt he wore in the same Argentina-England match holds the record for the most expensive soccer shirt at $9.3 million.