Messi’s 2022 WC Argentina shirts sell for $7.8m at auction،
Six of the jerseys Lionel Messi wore during Argentina's historic 2022 World Cup campaign, including one in their victory over France in the final, were sold at auction on Thursday for $7.8 million.
Three auctions brought the final sale price to $7.8 million – a total including the buyer's premium – at Sotheby's New York.
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The jerseys Messi wore in the first half of Argentina's six matches in Qatar were put up for auction by tech startup AC Momento and went to an anonymous bidder.
Despite hopes the lot would fetch a record price, the total fell short of the highest price paid at auction for a game-worn jersey, which still stands at the $10.1 million spent in September 2022 for Michael Jordan's 1998 NBA Finals Game 1 jersey.
This just surpassed the $9.28 million for Diego Maradona's Argentine “Hand of God” jersey, which sold in May 2022.
The final price is the highest for sports memorabilia at auction this year and sets a record for Messi memorabilia. Heading into this auction, the previous record spent on a piece of clothing worn by Messi in a match was $450,000 (spent in May 2022) for a jersey he wore for Barcelona in the Clásico in 2017.
Messi led Argentina to triumph in December, beating France on penalties in the final after a thrilling 3-3 draw.
The collection included jerseys worn by Messi in the first half of two of the three group stage matches, their 2-1 victory over Australia in the round of 16, their quarter-final penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands, the 3-0 triumph against Croatia in the semi-finals and the victory against France.
Messi announced the auction on November 20, saying: “Six World Cup jerseys. An auction. Today my friends at @acmomento announce an auction at @sothebys for six jerseys that I I wore during the World Cup in Qatar, including my jersey from the Final.
“Place your bids online at Sotheby's from November 30 to December 14. Part of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to the UNICAS project, led by the Sant Joan de Déu (SJD) Children's Hospital in Barcelona, to respond to needs of children suffering from rare diseases. diseases.”
