New Delhi: Argentinian footballing virtuoso, Lionel Messi is one of the absolute legends, if not the absolute legend of the game, and naturally, he is prone to make headlines from time to time.
Messi, staying true to his nature of legend, shared a post on his Instagram page where he announced that the six shirts, which he donned during Argentina’s successful 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign in Qatar, will be put on auction.
The auction will take place online from November 30 to December 14, at Sotheby’s, and the proceeds from the auction will go towards helping children with rare diseases through the Unicas Project, which is run by Sant Joan de Deu Barcelona Children’s Hospital.
All the information about the auction was provided by Messi himself, in the Instagram post he shared, which was captioned, “Six World Cup shirts. One auction. Today, my friends at @acmomento are announcing an auction at @sothebys for six shirts I wore during the World Cup in Qatar, including my shirt from the Final. Place your bids online at Sotheby’s from 30 November – 14 December. A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to UNICAS Project, led by Sant Joan de Déu (SJD) Barcelona Children’s Hospital to meet the needs of children suffering from rare diseases.”
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This can create another record
The auctioneers at Sotheby’s stated that the six Messi shirts that will be auctioned can create another off-field record for Messi, as they can fetch high amounts during the auction, considering how strong Lionel Messi’s fan base is.
Sotheby’s claims that the shirt, which Messi wore during the finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup against France, could go well over 10 million USD, which will also result in it becoming the most valuable sports memorabilia ever, surpassing basketball legend Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals jersey’s record of 10.1 million USD.
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The current record of the most valuable sports memorabilia in football history is with Messi’s own countryman and also one of the true legends of the sport, Diego Maradona, with 9.3 million USD.
Sotheby’s also informed that during the entire period of the Auction, all six shirts will be up on display at their New York headquarters.
Argentina’s dream run
Lionel Messi led the Argentina team to record a dream run in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Despite losing their first match in a shocking manner against Saudi Arabia, they went on to win the entire tournament, adding one only accolade that was evading Messi and becoming the three-time World Champion.
🐐 Lionel Messi’s 2022/23 stats & records;
🏟️ 39 games
⚽️ 30 goals
🎯 20 assists
🥅 50 G/A in 39 games
🏆 FIFA World Cup
🏆 French Super Cup
🏅 FIFA World Cup Player of the Tournament
🔜 FIFA The Best Men’s Player#Messi𓃵|#GOAT𓃵 pic.twitter.com/ivn8S5LYCa— FIFA World Cup Stats (@alimo_philip) February 27, 2023
Lionel Messi was also the Player of the tournament with his incredible record of 7 goals and 3 assists in the tournament.
