Auction house Sotheby has sold a set of Lionel Messi’s match-worn World Cup shirts for an eye-watering £6.1million [$7.8m], slightly falling short of the world’s most expensive sports memorabilia.
Sotheby listed a set of six different Adidas game-worn jerseys, all of which were worn by the Argentine icon at some point in Qatar. Messi led his country to victory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, defeating France in a penalty shootout in the final.
The set of six shirts attracted bids up to £6.1m, despite initial expectations that the bidding would surpass £7.9m. If they had happened, it would have become the second-most expensive football shirt to ever sell after the one Diego Maradona wore during the 1986 World Cup.
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It was reported that some money raised will partly go to the Unicas project, which helps kids with rare diseases. The money will be split between Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Children’s Hospital and the Leo Messi Foundation.
The Argentine striker has long been acknowledged as one of football’s greatest players, although criticism mounted before his World Cup victory, which eluded him throughout his illustrious career. Messi, alongside his teammates, secured their first major honors with a victory in the 2021 Copa America, South America’s continental competition.
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Despite this achievement, the coveted World Cup trophy remained beyond Messi’s grasp. In the 2014 World Cup, Messi led Argentina to the brink of the title, but a missed chance by Gonzalo Higuain and a stunning goal from then-teenager Mario Gotze left Argentine hearts broken.
In the 2018 World Cup, Messi played to expectations for Argentina, but they fell to Kylian Mbappe’s French team, who went on to win the tournament. Messi was 35 years old at the time, and some people felt he was running out of time to win the prestigious trophy.
Critics used this as a point to criticize Messi’s abilities. However, Messi proved them wrong by winning the World Cup with a performance that earned him the Golden Ball award for being the tournament’s best player.
After winning the World Cup, Messi became the first MLS player to win the Ballon d’Or award. He won the award for a record-breaking eight times.
Along with the eight Ballon d’Or, Messi’s trophy cabinet now consists of seven FIFA World Player of the Year [POTY] awards, nine La Liga POTY awards, six European golden shoes, two Laureus World Sports Awards, two World Cup Golden Balls, two UEFA Men’s POTY awards, and two Copa America MVPs. Here is a look at the most expensive sports memorabilia ever sold around Messi’s historic shirt sales.
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