This is not just match-used memorabilia. It is attached to one of football’s most replayed, debated and mythologised moments.
That combination is why objects from that afternoon carry unusual weight. A shirt can represent greatness, but the ball used in a moment like this represents the act itself - the instant that split opinion and entered sporting folklore.
Reports suggest the estimate would place the ball in the same conversation as the most valuable items tied to Maradona’s career. That feels plausible. Football memorabilia has become a prestige market, especially when three ingredients line up:
The benchmark is already high. The report says Maradona’s shirt from that match remains a record-setter at $9.3m, so it is easy to see why auction houses believe another relic from the same game could travel in similar territory.
The “Hand of God” endures because it was never just about a goal. It was about rule-bending, theatre and rivalry. Maradona famously described it as being scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God,” a line that helped turn sporting controversy into permanent mythology.
That is why this sale will be watched closely later this month. If bidding climbs near the reported figure, it will underline a familiar truth: in football, the most valuable artefacts are not always linked to perfection - sometimes they are tied to the moments nobody can stop arguing about.