The legendary football used by Diego Maradona to score two goals in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final has been sold at auction for $3.35 million, reports infohub.kz.
The auction was held by Heritage Auctions. Initially, organizers valued the lot at $10 million, with a starting price of $2.5 million. In the end, the Adidas Azteca ball went under the hammer for $3.35 million.
It was with this ball that Maradona scored two goals against England in the quarter-final of the 1986 World Cup. The first goal went down in history as the "Hand of God." Maradona punched the ball into the net after a challenge with English goalkeeper Peter Shilton. After the match, the Argentine said: "A little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God."
In the same match, Maradona scored a second goal, which FIFA later dubbed the "Goal of the Century." The player dribbled from the halfway line, beat several opponents, and chipped the ball over the goalkeeper.
After the final whistle, the ball was taken by Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser. He kept it for more than three decades, and in 2023 he signed a letter confirming the ball's authenticity. It was also verified by independent experts.
Previously, this same ball had been put up for auction. In 2022, it was sold for $2.37 million. In 2023, it was put up for sale again, but the deal fell through due to an insufficiently high bid.
Maradona's shirt from that match was sold at Sotheby's in 2022 for $9.28 million, setting a world record for sports jerseys at the time.
Earlier, it was reported that Maradona's captain's armband from the 1986 World Cup was sold for $512,000.