Maradona sells his historic World Cup ball in England for $3.4 million

The ball used by Argentine legend Diego Maradona to score his famous handball goal against England sold for $3.4 million, or about £2.5 million, at auction, falling short of estimates that had predicted a value of £7.3 million. According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, the ball failed to break the record of £7.1 million, paid four years ago for the shirt worn by the Argentina captain in the same 1986 World Cup match, in which he also scored the goal known as the “Goal of the Century.” The Adidas Azteca ball was expected to fetch around $10 million, equivalent to £7.3 million, during Heritage’s auction in the United States on Saturday, but it ultimately sold for $3.3 million, or about £2.5 million. Mike Provenzali, an auction specialist at Heritage, said before the sale: “It is a truly one-of-a-kind piece. It can be said to be the most important football artifact of all time.”