The ball behind two World Cup legends changes hands

The Adidas Azteca ball used by Diego Maradona to score the “Hand of God” and “Goal of the Century” against England at the 1986 World Cup has sold for $3.35 million at Heritage Auctions in Dallas.

The winning bid fell well short of Heritage’s $10 million estimate. Bidding opened at $2.5 million, while the auction house had described the photo-matched ball as potentially “the most famous ball in the history” of any sport.

A four-minute piece of football history

On June 22, 1986, at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, Maradona used the same ball for two goals that helped Argentina defeat England 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

Six minutes into the second half, Maradona beat England goalkeeper Peter Shilton to a loose ball and knocked it into the net with his left hand. Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser did not spot the infringement, allowing the goal to stand. Maradona later acknowledged that the goal should not have counted, but the incident became one of football’s most enduring stories.

Four minutes later, Maradona collected the ball inside his own half and embarked on a dazzling 70-meter run. He beat six England players before finishing past the goalkeeper, producing what was later celebrated as the “Goal of the Century.” Argentina went on to win the match, and Maradona captained the team to its second World Cup title.

Below the biggest memorabilia records

The sale price was also lower than the $9.3 million paid for Maradona’s shirt from the same match at Sotheby’s in 2022. It fell below Shohei Ohtani’s $4.392 million baseball sale and far short of the $24.12 million record set by Babe Ruth’s 1932 World Series jersey in 2024.

The ball’s auction history has been complicated. It belonged for decades to Bin Nasser, who sold it through Graham Budd Auctions for $2.37 million in 2022. A subsequent 2023 listing through Goldin Auctions drew a final bid of $2.04 million but failed to sell after the offer did not meet the seller’s reserve.

Its return to the market coincided with heightened American interest in soccer collectibles around the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. However, the auction concluded more than a month after the tournament, while Argentina’s campaign had ended in a 1-0 extra-time final defeat by Spain. For millions of Argentinians, though, the ball’s cultural value remains beyond any auction estimate.