Why did this football cost £2.5 million?

A football... that is worth £2.5 million... WHAT?!

A fair question! But this isn't just any football, it's VERY famous.

It was the ball that football legend Diego Maradona used to score a controversial goal - known as the 'Hand of God' goal - against England in the 1986 World Cup.

The shirt he wore during the same match sold for £7.1m at auction in 2022, so it's safe to say this match was one for the history books.

So, why is the goal known as that? And WHY are people paying millions for this stuff?

Keep reading to find out!

The year is 1986. It's a world cup quarter-final. England vs Argentina.

Maradona, who passed away in 2020, famously used his fist to hit the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton into the net.

It drew lots of criticism at the time and people still talk about it today.

In that same match, Maradona later scored what became known as the 'goal of the century', dribbling past five England outfield players before slotting the ball past Shilton.

Argentina won the game 2-1.

After the match, the Argentina star told reporters it had been scored "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God".

Ali Bin Nasser, who refereed the match in 1986, collected the Adidas Azteca ball at full-time.

He kept it for more than three decades!

In 2023, he signed a letter to confirm it was the only ball used during the match, which has also been confirmed independently too.

But then the 'Hand of God' ball changed hands!

Bin Nasser sold the ball in 2022 for $2.37m (£1.74m).

The ball then sold again at auction last week for $3.3m (£2.5m).

But it had been expected to fetch a lot more!

A specialist auctioneer said: "It's a true one-of-one item. Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists."

Seems pretty safe to say, the ball's new owner certainly scored at auction!

So, if you had millions would you buy a football? Or what do you think of this?

Let us know in the comments below!