Inter Miami star Lionel Messi is set to auction off his Argentina shirts that he wore during their 2022 World Cup triumph in Qatar.
Messi finally managed to win the one trophy that eluded him during his career (French domestic cups notwithstanding) last December, and including victory in what has been described as the greatest World Cup final ever.
As per Cadena SER, Messi will auction off the shirts that he wore during two of the group stage matches, the Round of 16, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the first half of the World Cup final. Sotheby’s estimate that it could fetch around $10m (€9.13m), which would put it close to the most expensive sporting artefact ever sold.
If the shirts go for over €10.1m, it would set the record, currently hled by Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA finals jersey, and also surpass the football record set by a Diego Maradona shirt.
The Spanish outlet go on to detail that ‘part’ – it is not revealed exactly how much – of the auction money raised will be donated to the pediatric hospital in Sant Joan de Deu, in Barcelona.
Messi has long been a patron of the Sant Joan de Deu hospital since his early days as a Barcelona star, and has a cancer ward that his donations built named after him. His donations to the children’s hospital have been a feature of his career.
Class shown by messi once again.