Lionel Messi’s ‘historic’ jerseys worn during Argentina’s 2022 World Cup victory run just sold for $7.8 million

The ultimate worth for the shirts, every worn in the course of the first half of certainly one of Argentina’s video games on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, is the very best worth for an merchandise of sports activities memorabilia this yr, Sotheby’s mentioned.

Argentina defeated France in a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw within the World Cup last, successful its third World Cup.

The victory, during which Messi scored two of Argentina’s three objectives, represented a crowning second for one of many sport’s greatest-ever gamers.

“These historic shirts should not solely a tangible reminder of one of the crucial essential moments within the historical past of sports activities, however are principally linked to the top second within the profession of probably the most embellished soccer participant in historical past,” Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of contemporary collectibles, mentioned in an announcement.

The shirts have been on show at Sotheby’s New York headquarters in the course of the two-week on-line public sale that ended Thursday.

No info on the successful bidder was launched.

Sotheby’s mentioned a portion of the public sale proceeds could be donated to the UNICAS Undertaking, led by Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Kids’s Hospital with the help of the Leo Messi Basis, to assist youngsters affected by uncommon ailments.

The 36-year-old Messi, who currently plays for Inter Miami within the MLS, spent 17 years at Barcelona. He has gained the Ballon d’Or, which is introduced yearly to the sport’s prime participant, a report eight occasions.

Sotheby’s had hoped that the Messi shirts would possibly set an public sale report for game-worn sports activities memorabilia, however that didn’t happen.

The report for a game-worn merchandise of sports activities memorabilia stays Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals jersey, which bought for $10.1 million at Sotheby’s in New York final yr.