Headline: Historic Messi World Cup Jerseys Fetch Record $7.8 Million in Sotheby’s Auction
The shirts were sold in an online auction at Sotheby’s New York office that lasted for two weeks.
Someone, whose name we don’t know, bought soccer star Lionel Messi’s special 2022 Fifa World Cup jerseys for a whopping $7.8 million on Thursday. Sotheby’s, the auction house, reported this news.
These six shirts were worn by Messi in the first part of one of Argentina’s important matches during the World Cup in Qatar last year.
Sotheby’s says the shirts’ final price is the most money ever paid for a piece of sports memorabilia this year.
In the World Cup final against France, Argentina won in a penalty shootout, earning their third title. Messi played a big part in this win by scoring two of Argentina’s three goals.
This is a special time for one of the greatest soccer players, and selling these shirts just makes his reputation as a soccer legend even stronger.
Brahm Wachter, who is in charge of modern collectibles at Sotheby’s, said, “These special shirts not only remind us of a really important moment in sports history but are mainly linked to the highest point in the career of the most accomplished football player ever.”
The shirts were sold in an online auction at Sotheby’s New York office that lasted for two weeks.
Sotheby’s mentioned that some of the money from the auction would be donated to the UNICAS Project. This project is run by the Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Children’s Hospital, supported by the Leo Messi Foundation, and its goal is to help children dealing with rare diseases.
Messi, who is 36 years old and currently plays for Inter Miami in the MLS, spent 17 years at Barcelona. He has the record for winning the Ballon d’Or eight times, an award given every year to the best player in the game.
Sotheby’s thought that the Messi shirts might set a record for the highest amount ever paid for sports memorabilia worn during a game, but that didn’t happen.
The current record for sports memorabilia worn during a game is held by Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals jersey. It was sold for $10.1 million at Sotheby’s in New York last year.
