Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' ball falls short of breaking records, but sells for $3.35 million at auction

Diego Maradona scored two goals for Argentina in the 1986 World Cup, helping the nation defeat England in the quarterfinals. The ball, which is now referred to as the "Hand of God" ball, was put up for auction this summer by Heritage Auctions, and it concluded on Saturday night. When highlighting the event, Heritage had estimated that the ball would go for $10 million, and bidding started on Saturday at $2.5 million. The ball fell well short of the $10 million estimate but still sold for $3.35 million, according to The Athletic . Heritage hoped the ball would come close to the sale price of Maradona's shirt from the same game, which sold in 2022 for just under $9.3 million at Sotheby's. Maradona's ball not only fell short of both expectations and the shirt's value, but it is also not the most expensive sports ball ever purchased. That honor belongs to Shohei Ohtani's 50th home run ball from 2024, which sold for $4.392 million . Part of the allure of Maradona's soccer ball is that it is shrouded in infamy. The striker scored his first goal against England off a handball that was missed by the referee. With VAR not yet in place back then, the handball was missed. Even Maradona admitted later that it shouldn't have counted. The soccer star then scored the game-winning goal four minutes later, though this one was legit. Maradona then led Argentina to the World Cup title that year. As such, the ball has been dubbed the 'Hand of God' ball. The ball was first sold to Graham Budd Auctions in 2022 for $2.37 million. It was relisted for sale the following year, but the final bid of $2.04 million fell short of the predetermined reserve price, so no sale was completed. It was relisted this summer during the hype of the 2026 World Cup. Part of the final price falling well short of the estimate could be attributed to the auction ending over a month after the tournament finished and to Argentina failing to win the cup. If Argentina had beaten Spain in the final, Maradona's ball still likely wouldn't have reached $10 million, but it may have had a better chance of surpassing Ohtani's home run to set a new record for the most expensive ball ever.