Lionel Messi and Sotheby’s auction house are coming together to release one of the most valuable collections of sports memorabilia. The Argentine superstar is selling rare pieces of memorabilia from the 2022 World Cup for a cause, but he might end up breaking some records.
Messi finally accomplished his dream of being a World Champion when he won the 2022 edition in Qatar. On his way, he won the Golden Ball and scored seven goals. Now in 2023, six jerseys that Messi wore on his way to the elusive trophy are going under the auction hammer.
Sotheby’s auction house announced that they would be accepting bids for these jerseys from November 30 to December 14. The six jerseys will include two from group stage matches, one from a Round of 16 clash with Australia, one from the iconic quarterfinal clash with the Netherlands, another from the semi-finals against Croatia, and one that he wore in the final against France.
Six shirts worn by the one-and-only Lionel Messi during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar are coming to auction at Sotheby’s. This is your chance to own a piece of football history. https://t.co/RIVKdGhBFz pic.twitter.com/19N0rvSMcg
— Sotheby’s (@Sothebys) November 20, 2023
An interesting fact about this collection is that all the jerseys are from the first half of these clashes. Usually, players swap jerseys at the full-time whistle or keep the important ones for themselves, but the ones used in the first half are usually saved. Six of those will be listed in this collection.
The official statement from the auction house revealed that an undisclosed portion of the auction proceedings will be donated to the UNICAS Project. The project will work to meet the needs of children suffering from rare diseases with the support of the Leo Messi Foundation.
Lionel Messi can make a world record for fetching the highest fee for sports memorabilia
This auction can set a new record for sports memorabilia if the collection is sold for more than $10 million. The current record was made back in September 2022, when Michael Jordan’s iconic Chicago Bulls jersey from Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals was sold for $10 million.
In soccer, the most expensive soccer jersey was sold in 2022 when ex-England international Steve Hodge sold Diego Maradona’s jersey from the 1986 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals between Argentina and England. Maradona scored two iconic goals in that match, the incredible solo goal and the ‘Hand of God’ goal, wearing that iconic jersey. It was sold for $9.3 million, making it the most valuable soccer memorabilia.
Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” jersey from the 1986 World Cup has sold for a world-record price of $9.28 million at an auction at Sotheby’s in London 🤯
The final price surpassed the previous records for a match-worn jersey ($5.64 million for Babe Ruth’s 1928-1930 New York… pic.twitter.com/Qsy7F2Ysk0
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 20, 2023
For Messi, the current record stands at $451,000 (£360,000) for an FC Barcelona shirt. This jersey was worn by Messi when he scored the stoppage-time winner against Real Madrid in the 2017 El Clásico.
The statement from Sotheby’s auction house labeled this collection as artifacts of Messi‘s legacy. For many, these kits symbolize the culmination of a career that is filled with hard work, some heartbreaks, many magical moments, and an undying passion for the beautiful game of soccer.
The auction house will display this new collection for fans in New York during the bidding period. In an official statement, the value of the collection was revealed to be in excess of $10 million. The sale is poised to become the most valuable collection of sports memorabilia. As the bidding date for this collection drew near, many sports memorabilia records were expected to be broken.