In mid July, Sotheby’s auction house in New York sold the famous number 10 shirt that Brazilian legend Pelé wore during Brazil’s 5-2 win over Sweden in the 1958 World Cup final.
The sale happened just a couple of days before the 2026 World Cup final between Argentina and Spain, making the timing feel very special.
Pelé was just 17 years old when he wore that shirt.
He scored twice in that final and is still the youngest player ever to score in a World Cup final.
That record has stood for 68 years and is still standing today.
The shirt received 10 bids from more than five different buyers before landing on its final price of $4.9 million.
It is now the second most expensive football shirt ever sold.
The only shirt that has cost more is Diego Maradona‘s Hand of God jersey from the 1986 World Cup, which sold for $9.3 million in 2022.
The story of how the shirt survived all these years is also interesting.
After the 1958 final, Pelé gave the shirt to his roommate and teammate, Dida, as a gift. Dida’s family kept it for many years before it ended up in a Brazilian museum.
In 2004, the shirt was sold at auction for around $105,000. On Thursday, it sold for $4.9 million.
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Pelé went on to win the World Cup two more times, in 1962 and 1970, making him the only player in history to win it three times.
He scored 757 goals in his career and is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers who ever lived. He passed away in 2022.
The 2026 World Cup final takes place on Sunday.
Lionel Messi, another man chasing the kind of legacy that puts shirts in auction houses for millions of dollars, will lead Argentina against Spain at MetLife Stadium.
