Sotheby’s is auctioning off a rare set of six jerseys of Lionel Messi used in the FIFA World Cup 2022, which he won with Argentina.
This set includes all the matches of the FIFA World Cup, together with the final which Argentina won against France with penalties. The set is made of blue and white shirts, including the shirt of the final.
Only the final shirt is estimated to catch the value of $10 million and to be registered as the most valuable sports shirt sold in this auction.
The current record stands for Michael Jordan’s shirt from the 1998 NBA final sold for $10,1 million at Sotheby’s in New York in 2022. With Maradona’s jersey holding the record for the most expensive football jersey ever sold back in May 2022 for the value of $9,3 million, this time Messi sees a chance to overcome this record.
The auction will take place from 30 November to 14 December.
The company is well known for famous auctions that include the rarest products worldwide and are sold for record sums. The majority of the bidders are new bidders under the age of 40.
US-based tech startup AC Momento is bringing the shirts to auction and will be the company responsible for the security before the event.
Sotheby’s said in an official statement that the profits will go to charity. They added some additional information about the event:
“The shirts are being brought to auction by US-based tech startup AC Momento, who in addition to their mobile app for sports fans, partners with high-profile athletes (like Messi) to help manage their match-worn memorabilia collections.
“A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to the UNICAS Project, led by Sant Joan de Déu (SJD) Barcelona Children’s Hospital with the support of the Leo Messi Foundation, to meet the needs of children suffering from rare diseases. This follows the work the Leo Messi Foundation has completed with the SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital Pediatric Cancer Center which treats 400 children with cancer each year.
“The set of shirts will be on view at Sotheby’s New York in a free, public exhibition open from 30 November to 14 December (the same period during which bids are invited).”
These organizations serve to strengthen the relations that the footballer’s foundations have with third-party organizations. In this case, Lionel Messi’s foundation will preserve the right to be the first organization to help Barcelona’s hospitals put difficult projects in life.
The player has undermined the risk to not only help financially but also contribute in research terms for these Centers to cure their patients.
Barcelona is always the first and the most important destination for the Argentinian cause he spent the majority of his career there. Now it is his turn to give something back and contribute to the city, which made him famous.
Of course, this is only one of the steps that Messi will consider to develop these projects.
He and his foundation are responsible for multiple projects in Argentina and Spain. The player sees that as an obligation to serve equality around the world.
He thinks that within the boundaries of the play, each footballer can contribute to a better future.
He managed to do for his country what no one has done since the time of the Great Diego Armando Maradona. Messi won the World Cup in his fifth attempt and this was the greatest achievement in his career.
The player was one of the best for his country in Qatar and this makes the overall value of the jerseys even more expensive.
The overall value of the jerseys will go over $30 million and this would be a considerable amount for the project. Only the bid will discover the true value as this is already a help for Barcelona’s health care.