🔻The historic ball from the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal match that Diego Maradona scored his famous “Hand of God” goal with was sold at an American auction for $3.3 million. The price was far lower than the initial estimate of $10 million by experts.

🔻The historic ball from the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal match that Diego Maradona scored his famous “Hand of God” goal with was sold at an American auction by Heritage for $3.3 million. The price was far lower than the initial estimate of $10 million by experts.

🔹In that historic match, Maradona scored Argentina’s first goal by moving the ball with his hand over the head of Peter Shilton, England’s goalkeeper, and after the game he said the goal had been made “a little by Maradona’s head and a little by the hand of God.” He also registered the “Goal of the Century” in the same match by dribbling past five England players.

🔹Ali Ben Nasser, the Tunisian referee of that match, took the “Adidas Azteca” ball after the game ended and kept it for more than three decades. In 2022, he sold it for $2.37 million, and the new owner also put the ball up for auction again.

🔹Mike Provanzale, a Heritage auction expert, called the ball “the most valuable piece of memorabilia in the history of football.” Interestingly, Maradona’s jersey from the same match was also sold in 2022 for $9.3 million.