"Hand of God" soccer ball sells for $3.35 million

The iconic soccer ball kicked by Diego Maradona for his infamous "Hand of God" goal during the 1986 World Cup has been sold at auction for $3.35 million, equivalent to about 2.87 million euros. The ball, which Argentinian legend Maradona himself described as the "Hand of God," was put up for sale in Texas.

This marks the second time the historic ball has changed hands through auction. It was previously owned by Ali Bin Nasser, the referee of the 1986 Argentina-England match. Bin Nasser sold the ball in 2022 for $2.37 million. A year later, it was sold again for $2.04 million before this latest sale.

Auction house Heritage Auctions had estimated the ball's value to be upwards of $10 million, making the final sale price a potential disappointment for the organizers. In contrast, Maradona's jersey from the same 1986 match sold for £7.1 million (around 8.3 million euros) in 2022. Maradona, who also scored one of the greatest individual goals in World Cup history in that match, passed away in 2020 at the age of 60.