A shirt worn by Pele during the 1958 World Cup final has sold for $4.9m (£3.6m) at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.
It is the second most valuable football jersey sold behind the Argentina shirt Diego Maradona wore when he scored the ‘Hand of God’ goal against England at the 1986 World Cup – which went for £7.1m in 2022.
Having received a total of 10 bids from more than five bidders, Pele’s shirt from the 1958 final is his most valuable item of memorabilia ever sold at auction.
This very shirt sold in 2004 for $105,600 (£70,505).
Pele scored twice against Sweden as a 17-year-old in the 1958 World Cup final to win the first of his three World Cups.
He still holds the record for the youngest player to score in a World Cup final.
“Today’s result is a powerful testament to the enduring legacy of one of the greatest footballers of all time,” said Brendan Hawkes, Sotheby’s head of sports strategy and development.
“This shirt is not only a lasting reminder of one of the most important moments in football history, but is principally connected to the very moment that catapulted Pele into a global sporting icon.”
Other items sold in ‘The Beautiful Game’ auction on Thursday included the captain’s armband worn by Maradona during the 1986 World Cup – including when he scored the ‘Hand of God’ goal against England – which sold for $512,000 (£380,000).
A shirt worn by Lionel Messi during Barcelona’s dramatic 6–1 comeback victory over Paris St-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League in 2017 sold for $217,600 (£161,482), while David Beckham’s shirt from his 50th England cap at the 2002 World Cup sold for $51,200 dollars (£37,996).