December 14, (THEWILL) – Six football shirts worn by Lionel Messi during Argentina’s triumphant 2022 World Cup campaign, sold for $7.8 million at auction, setting a new record price for memorabilia related to the football icon. The winning bid was placed on Thursday and was overseen by famed auction house Sotheby’s.
The items, described by Sotheby’s as Messi’s ‘iconic light blue and white, vertical striped Argentina shirts from his historic 2022 FIFA World Cup run’, included three shirts he wore during matches in Qatar. Auction house representatives, stated that the final hammer price was the highest ever achieved for Messi memorabilia at auction. It also marks the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia to sell at auction so far this year.
Messi led Argentina to a dramatic victory over France, in the 2022 World Cup final played on December 18, in Doha. With the achievement, he cemented his status as Argentina’s greatest ever footballer and one of the sport’s most decorated athletes. “The 2022 FIFA World Cup stands as one of the greatest events in sports history, intrinsically connected to Messi’s valiant journey and firmly establishing his status as the greatest player of all time,” stated Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s Head of Modern Collectibles.
The auction capped a momentous 2023 for Messi in which he claimed a record-extending 8th Ballon d’Or title and was named Time Magazine’s Athlete of the Year. After 17 trophy-laden seasons with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, Messi also embarked on a new chapter Stateside with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami this summer.
Sotheby’s said exhibiting the historic World Cup shirts offered football fans and collectors a special connection both to Messi’s crowning football achievement and a pivotal moment in sports history. The winning bid for the six shirts is believed to have come from an anonymous overseas buyer.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
