The set of six jerseys worn by Lionel Messi (36) at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be sold at auction in December, announced Sotheby’s auction house on Monday. The auction house estimates their value at more than 10 million dollars. Messi wore the stripes in the group matches against Saudi Arabia and Mexico, then in the round of 16 against Australia, in the quarter-finals against the Netherlands, in the semi-finals against Croatia, and in the final against France.
With this “priceless” collection, which will be sold online from November 30 to December 14 and displayed to the public at Sotheby’s headquarters in New York, the company is hoping for an amount “in excess of $10 million”, making it “the most valuable collection of sports memorabilia ever sold at auction”. For comparison, the most expensive jersey currently sold at auction is the one worn by the legendary Michael Jordan in the 1998 NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz, which was sold for 10.1 million dollars.
Part of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to the UNICAS project, which is run by the Children’s Hospital Sant Joan de Déu (SJD) in Barcelona with the support of the Leo Messi Foundation, in order to respond to the needs of children suffering from rare diseases. Sotheby’s adds this information.