Lionel Messi World Cup 2022 shirts sell for nearly $8m in New York auction

Collection was most valuable piece of sports memorabilia sold at auction this year, Sotheby's says

A collection of six match-worn Lionel Messi jerseys from the 2022 World Cup. Photo: Sotheby's

The jerseys could be the most valuable collection of sports memorabilia in history. Photo: Sotheby's

Messi poses with the jersey he wore during the first half of the World Cup final against France. Photo: Sam Robles Photography

Messi with six of his jerseys from the 2022 World Cup. Photo: Sam Robles Photography

The shirt worn by Messi during Argentina's group stage match against Saudi Arabia. Photo: Sotheby's

The jersey Messi wore during the first half of the 2022 World Cup final against France. Photo: Sotheby's

A jersey is displayed during a press preview ahead of its auction at Sotheby's in New York. Reuters

Two jerseys on display at Sotheby's in New York. Reuters

The jerseys worn during the matches between Argentina and Croatia and Argentina and France. AFP

A visitor looks at the six World Cup match-worn shirts belonging to Messi at Sotheby's New York. AFP

The auction will be open for bidding from November 30 to December 14. AFP

One of the jerseys on display. EPA

A collection of six shirts Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi wore during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar have sold for almost $8 million at auction in New York, Sotheby's said on Thursday.

The collection of six match-worn shirts sold for $7.8 million after bidding closed. It was the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia sold this year and the auction record for any Messi memorabilia.

Sotheby's said the previous record for a match-worn shirt by Messi was the Barcelona shirt he wore during the 2017 El Clasico against Real Madrid, which sold for $450,000 in 2022.

The collection features the white and sky-blue kit that Messi wore during the first half of the World Cup final against France.

Argentina went on to win that match in penalties, giving Messi the final trophy to add to his illustrious cabinet.

The collection also included shirts he wore during the semi-final against Croatia, the quarterfinal against the Netherlands and the first knockout round against Australia. Shirts worn during the group stage in matches against Saudi Arabia and Mexico were also part of the collection.

Messi's kit collection fell short of the all-time record for game-worn sports memorabilia, however.

That title still belongs to basketball great Michael Jordan, whose 1998 NBA Finals jersey sold for $10.1 million last year.