The most famous football in history just sold for over $3m: what makes it so special?

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FT Desk

Arguably the most famous football in the history of the sport has just sold at auction for £2.5m ($3.4m)

At Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, the Adidas Azteca ball from the 1986 World Cup fetched that amount, with bidders vying to claim what is undoubtedly the most famous, and infamous, soccer ball ever used at the tournament.

The ball is from one of the most iconic World Cup matches in history - the quarter-final contested by England and Argentina at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

In that fixture, Diego Maradona scored two goals as Argentina knocked England out and both goals became legendary for very different reasons. For the first, he rose high above goalkeeper Peter Shilton to punch the ball into the net and for the second, his talent exploded on the pitch for the world to see with a mesmerising run, drifting past defender after defender before slotting the ball home.

The first goal was dubbed 'the hand of God', while the second earned the title of 'goal of the century'.

Though the Adidas Azteca ball was expected to earn around $10m at the auction, the seller settled for $3.4m.

For over 30 years, it was in the possession of the referee from that famous match, Tunisian Ali Bin Nasser, who took it after the full-time whistle. In 2023, he signed a letter confirming it was the only ball used during the match, and that was subsequently confirmed by further independent authentication.

Speaking to Reuters before the auction, Mike Provenzale, a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, said: "It's a true one-of-one item. Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists."

World Cup memorabilia

World Cup memorabilia has a way of bringing football’s biggest moments back to life. Whether it’s a signed shirt, a match ticket, or a programme from a famous final, these items carry the excitement, nostalgia, and history that make the tournament so special.

For fans and collectors, it’s not just about owning something rare, it’s about holding a piece of the story and that's why we've seen some iconic pieces of memorabilia sell for not just thousands but millions.

The most expensive piece of World Cup memorabilia ever sold was the shirt worn by Maradona against England in that aforementioned 1986 quarter-final, in which he scored those two iconic goals.

At a Sotheby's auction in 2022, it went for a cool £7,142,500 ($9.28 million).

People seem keen on Argentina memorabilia, as six shirts worn by Lionel Messi on his way to lifting the 2022 World Cup sold for £6.1 million ($7.8 million) in an auction in New York. Sotheby's said at the time: "A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to Unicas Project, led by Sant Joan de Deu Barcelona Children's Hospital with the support of the Leo Messi Foundation, to meet the needs of children suffering from rare diseases."

Alan Ball’s 1966 World Cup Medal, Shirt and Cap and Pele’s 1970 Jules Rimet Trophy Replica sold for £445,000 ($560,000) and £394,000 ($500,000), respectively, in 2022 and 2016.

Away from the World Cup, the most expensive piece of football memorabilia is the book which detailed the rules and regulations of association football, the game we know and love.

The copy of the original laws of the game sold in 2011 for £881,250 ($1,029,797). What made it so valuable was its status as one of the earliest surviving documents connected to organised football. It came from Sheffield FC, the world’s oldest football club, and it was tied to the formal rules that helped shape the modern game.

The 1859 pamphlet itself was only 16 pages long and, according to contemporary reporting, is one of only two known surviving copies. That rarity, plus the club’s historical importance, is the kind of combination that drives exceptional auction prices.