Maradona's "Hand of God" Ball to be Auctioned Off for $3.4 Million

 

The soccer ball used by Diego Maradona to score Argentina's infamous "Hand of God" World Cup goal against England in 1986 will be auctioned off next month and might bring up to £3 million.

The ball will go up for auction on November 16 but interested bidders can register online starting on October 28, according to London-based Graham Budd Auctions, which also predicted that the ball will fetch between £2.5 million and £3 million (up to $3.4 million).

According to Graham Budd, chairman of the auction company, "given the history surrounding the ball, we are expecting this lot to be highly popular when it comes up for auction."

Political tensions following the Falklands War caused the quarterfinal match between Argentina and England in 1986 to boil up, and the late Maradona's two opposing goals would come to characterize the match.

Maradona sprinted into the box for the opening shot, rose with England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, and punched the ball home.

Later, he said that "a little bit of Maradona's head, and a little bit of God's hand" had gone into scoring the goal.

A 2002 FIFA survey deemed Maradona's second goal the "Goal of the Century" when he sprinted past five English defenders and Shilton just four minutes after the first.

As a result of Ali Bin Nasser's decision to uphold Diego Maradona's contentious first goal, Argentina defeated the United States 2-1 and went on to win the World Cup.

The ball's owner, Bin Nasser, remarked, "This ball is part of international football history; it feels like the proper time to be sharing it with the world."

The jersey Maradona wore in the quarterfinal was auctioned off in May for about $9.3 million, more than twice what Sotheby's had estimated it would fetch.

The 1998 NBA finals jersey worn by basketball icon Michael Jordan, however, broke the previous record for the most expensive sports memorabilia auction in September when it sold for $10.1 million.

In November 2020, Maradona, 60, passed away from heart failure.