Crumpled ball from Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal heads to auction with $10M estimate

The soccer ball used when Diego Maradona scored the infamous "Hand of God" goal at the 1986 Mexico World Cup is heading to auction in the United States, drawing wide attention as one of the most storied artifacts in the sport's history.

According to the South China Morning Post, the ball will be offered through Heritage Auctions from Aug. 21 to 23.

The ball was used in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal between Argentina and England. Maradona punched the ball into the net with his hand before the goalkeeper could reach it, but the referee allowed the goal to stand.

After the match, Maradona described the goal as "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God" — a remark that gave the moment its enduring name. The incident remains one of the most debated in soccer history.

Argentina won the match 2-1 and went on to claim the 1986 World Cup title. Maradona's second goal in the same game — a solo run past several English defenders — was later named FIFA's Goal of the Century.

Heritage Auctions has set an estimated hammer price of $10 million for the ball, with bidding starting at $2.5 million.

Memorabilia connected to Maradona, who died in November 2020, continues to command strong prices among sports collectors worldwide. The jersey he wore during the Hand of God match sold for about $9.3 million in 2022, setting a world record for sports memorabilia at the time.

Other items from Maradona's 1986 World Cup campaign — including a training kit, signed jerseys and boots — have also appeared at auction and fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars, cementing his belongings as among the most sought-after lots in the global sports auction market.

The upcoming sale has raised the question of whether another relic from that tournament will surpass the record set by the Hand of God jersey. The 1986 Mexico World Cup is widely regarded as the pinnacle of Maradona's career, and collectors and analysts expect the rarity and symbolic weight of items from that tournament to sustain their value for years to come.