A battered, scuffed, and long-deflated relic from football’s most theatrical afternoon has been sold for £2.5 million at Heritage Auctions in the United States. The synthetic Adidas Azteca, bearing the weathered scars of a blistering afternoon in Mexico City nearly four decades ago, represents one of the most storied artefacts in international sport: the single match ball with which Diego Armando Maradona produced both the most controversial and the most breathtaking goals in World Cup history.
The encounter between Argentina and England on 22 June 1986 at the Estadio Azteca transcended ordinary sporting rivalry. Played before a raucous crowd of 114,000 spectators and framed by diplomatic fallout from the 1982 Falklands War, the quarter-final provided the grandest stage for Maradona’s peerless blend of audacity and artistry.
Six minutes into the second half, the Argentine captain pursued a misdirected defensive clearance inside the penalty area, launching himself towards England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. With subtle sleight of hand hidden from Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser, Maradona used his raised left fist to punch the ball over Shilton and into the unguarded net. Despite incandescent protests from the English backline, the goal was awarded. Maradona later framed the moment in folklore, asserting that the strike had been guided “a little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God.”
Four minutes later, using the very same ball, Maradona produced pure transcendence. Receiving possession inside his own half, he pirouetted away from Peter Beardsley and Peter Reid, accelerated past Terry Butcher and Terry Fenwick, and effortlessly sidestepped Shilton before finishing from a tight angle. FIFA would later officially crown the 60-yard solo run the ‘Goal of the Century’. Gary Lineker pulled a late goal back for England, but Argentina held on for a 2-1 victory before eventually defeating West Germany to lift the World Cup trophy.
Following the final whistle, Bin Nasser retained the ball as a personal memento, safeguarding it for more than three decades. In an era predating modern multi-ball rules, the referee provided formal documentation certifying that this specific ball was used for all ninety minutes of the contest.
Bin Nasser initially consigned the ball to auction in London in late 2022, where it fetched £1.74 million. A subsequent sale attempt the following year failed to clear the seller’s reserve price. While the latest £2.5 million hammer price fell short of initial pre-sale estimates approaching £5 million, it reinforces the enduring commercial power of vintage football memorabilia. The result follows the landmark 2022 sale of Maradona’s blue shirt from the same match, which commanded £7.1 million at Sotheby’s.
