Who wants to get their hands on a relic that has entered the football history start preparing your wallet. The ball used by Diego Armando Maradona in the legendary challenge between Argentina and England at the 1986 World Cup returns to the market. From August 21st to 23rd, Heritage Auctions will at auction the ball that was the protagonist first of the famous “Hand of God” and, just four minutes later, of the goal that has gone down in history as the “Goal of the Century”.
La the starting price is set at $2,5 million, but the final price could be much higher. According to the American auction house's estimates, the ball It could be worth between $9 and $10 million., thus entering the elite of the most expensive sports memorabilia ever sold. "I think it's the most iconic ball in the history of football," he explained. Dan Imler, vice president of the sports division of Heritage Auctions, also highlighting the strong growth recorded in recent years by the market for the most valuable sports memorabilia.
The precedent of Maradona's shirt sold for 9,3 million
The possible record of the ball finds a previous directed in that very match. In 2022 the shirt worn by Maradona against England It sold for approximately $9,3 million, becoming the most expensive soccer jersey ever sold at auction. The ball had already been put on the market in 2022 and 2023, but on both occasions the bids stopped just under $2 million. Now Heritage Auctions Instead, it aims for a much higher valuation, supported by the growth of sports collecting and above all by the historical weight of the object.
In fact, it's not just the "Hand of God" ball. It's the same ball with which Maradona, just minutes later, created one of the most famous individual plays in World Cup history, the "Goal of the Century."
The “Hand of God” and a match that has become legendary
Argentina vs England was played on June 22, 1986 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. The match also had strong symbolic significance, coming just four years after the Falklands War between the two countries.
In the 51st minute, on a ball that fell into the area after an intervention by Steve Hodge, Maradona anticipated English goalkeeper Peter Shilton in the air and he hit the ball with his left handTunisian referee Ali Bennaceur nevertheless allowed the goal. After the match, Maradona immediately transformed the episode into a legend, explaining that the goal had been scored "partly with Maradona's head and partly with the hand of God." From that phrase was born the definition that would become inseparable from his career.
Argentina would go on to win the match 2-1 and, a few days later, the World Cup.
Four minutes later came the “Goal of the Century”
The real peculiarity of that ball is that it was also protagonist of the second Argentine goal, just marked four minutes laterMaradona received the ball in his own half and accelerated, beating several English players one after another. He skipped past Beardsley and Reid, avoided tackles from Butcher and Fenwick, even got past Shilton and slotted the ball into the net.
FIFA later calculated that theaction lasted about 11 secondsIn 2002, Fifa.com users voted him “Goal of the Century” in the history of the World Cup.
This is it an unrepeatable combination that makes the heirloom particularly preciousIn the space of four minutes, the same ball was at the center of two opposite yet complementary moments in the Maradona legend: first the controversial trick of the “Hand of God,” then one of the most extraordinary displays of individual talent ever seen on a football pitch.
