Football shirts worn by Lionel Messi during Argentina’s winning run at the World Cup in 2022 are set to go under the hammer – and are predicted to become the most valuable collection of sports memorabilia ever to sell at auction.
Sotheby’s estimates the six shirts worn by the Argentina captain in Qatar, including during the final against France in December 2022, could fetch more than $10m (£8m).
Argentina won the final – and the country’s third World Cup – in a penalty shootout victory over France after a 3-3 draw in which Messi scored two goals.
The 36-year-old shared news of the auction on social media, announcing a portion of the proceeds would be donated to the Unicas Project, led by the Sant Joan de Deu Barcelona Children’s Hospital, for children suffering from rare diseases.
In terms of football memorabilia specifically, the current record for a game-worn item is $9.3m (£7.4m), also in 2022, and comes courtesy of another famous Argentinian – the shirt worn by Diego Maradona during the 1986 quarter-final 2-1 victory over England, during which he scored his infamous “Hand of God” goal.
