Messi World Cup memorabilia to break sports auction records

Six of the Argentina kits Messi wore during the 2022 World Cup are going up for auction. In all likelihood, the shirts will break records for the biggest bids in the history of sports auctions. Sotheby’s is listing the shirts in a bundle where the bidder will receive all the kits. The bidding group expects to rake in $10 million for the sale.

However, neither Messi nor Argentina will receive all that money. Messi announced on his Instagram account that a portion of the proceeds will go to the UNICAS Project. This is a fight against rare diseases affecting children that the Barcelona children’s hospital Sant Joan de Jeu leads.

Each of the six kits is from the first halves of games. Messi, like many players, switches shirts at halftime to stay fresh and light. The teams keep these shirts as memorabilia. Given Argentina’s success, these shirts will now go to auction worth millions. As of now, Michael Jordan’s jersey from game one of the 1998 NBA Finals holds the record. That sold for over $10 million earlier this year.

For soccer fans, Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ kit holds the sport’s record as the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia to go to auction. Last summer, the Argentina kit went for $9.32 million. The ball from that game collected a bid of $3 million.

With Messi’s bundle including six kits, including one that he scored in during the World Cup Final, the Argentine will likely break both records. Anybody can submit bids on the Sotheby’s website while the shirts are on display in New York for anyone to view. The auction opens Nov. 30 and runs through Dec. 14.

Messi World Cup kits at auction carry legacy

Like the two previous auctions from Michael Jordan and Maradona, Messi won the respective title and that competition. That is what makes these jerseys worth so much in the eyes of bidders. Not only is Messi arguably the greatest player of all time. He had his greatest achievement as a player in these kits.

Moreover, Messi was unbelievable in Qatar during the World Cup. He won the award as the tournament’s best player en route to scoring seven goals, which was second to only Kylian Mbappe’s eight. Also, Messi had three assists in the competition. He scored both of his penalties during the shootouts against the Netherlands in the quarterfinal and France in the Final. However, the kits on auction will not be those game-worn kits. The ones on auction are only from the first halves.

Other Messi auctions

With the stature of Lionel Messi in the soccer and sports world, his memorabilia is regularly among the most expensive. Even something just signed by Messi fetches thousands of dollars on different memorabilia websites. With game-worn items from the Argentine’s crowning moments, he will break records with the most expensive sports memorabilia items sold at auction.

PHOTOS: IMAGO