Six of the jerseys Lionel Messi wore during his World Cup run in 2022 have been auctioned for $7.8 million.
This was announced by the auction house Sotheby on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
The final price for the shirts, each worn during the first half of one of Argentina’s games at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, is the highest price for an item of sports memorabilia this year. Previously, a jersey he wore in 2017 sold for $450,000.
The jerseys were from six of the seven matches Messi played in, only missing one from a group stage game.
“These historic shirts are not only a tangible reminder of one of the most important moments in the history of sports but are principally connected to the pinnacle moment in the career of the most decorated football player in history,” Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of modern collectibles, said in a statement.
The shirts were on display at Sotheby’s New York headquarters during the two-week online auction that ended Thursday.
The group of jerseys falls shy of the record set by the auction house behind Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals jersey ($10.1 million). Fellow Argentinian hero Diego Maradona’s jersey worn during the “Hand of God” goal sold for $9.3 million.
Messi’s shirts, though, surpassed LeBron James’ jersey that he wore during Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals, which sold for $3.68 million in January. James’ Miami Heat won that game, giving them and James back-to-back titles. It was the second of James’ four titles thus far.
Messi was awarded the Golden Ball for being the most outstanding player of the World Cup. He had two goals and converted a penalty to lift Argentina to victory over France in the final. It’s the second time he’s won the award, making him the only player to win it twice.
Messi, 36, said the 2022 World Cup was his last, but he did play in a recent 2026 World Cup qualifier. It was Argentina’s third-ever World Cup title.
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