It’s one of the most talked-about incidents in FIFA World Cup history, and one memorabilia hunter can take a piece of football lore home.

The ‘Hand of God’ goal scored by Diego Maradona against England at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico is forever etched in one of the most bitter international rivalries in the game, and the ball that the Argentine legend punched beyond Peter Shilton at Azteca Stadium has now fetched $3.3 million at an auction in the United States.

The goal was scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God,” he had said later. But there was no such controversy around Maradona’s second goal in their 2-1 victory in the quarterfinal, scored with the same ball, when he dribbled past five England defenders to beat Shilton in goal, a strike described as the ‘goal of the century.’

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The ‘Hand of God’ ball went under the hammer at Heritage Auctions on the weekend.

“It’s a true one-of-one item. Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists,” Mike Provenzale, a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

According to The New York Times, the bidding had opened at $2.5 million, but the final price fell well short of the $10 million estimate Heritage had attached to the ball.

The Adidas Azteca ball had been in possession of Ali Bin Nasser, the Tunisian referee who officiated that match, till 2022 when he sold it for $2.37 million. In 2023, he had signed a letter confirming that it was the only ball used in the game. Its next owner had again put it up for auction in 2023 though it did not sell as bids did not meet the minimum value set, BBC Sport reported.

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The shirt Maradona, who passed away in November 2020, wore during the game had fetched just under $9.3 million in 2022.