Messi’s World Cup jerseys expected to fetch $10m at auction

Renowned soccer player and Argentina captain Lionel Messi’s six jerseys that he wore in the first half of each game in World Cup 2022 are expected to fetch $10 million in bids at an auction at Sotheby's in New York.

Six white and sky blue jerseys that ended the French dynasty at the mega event last year are now worth millions of dollars, npr.org reported.    

Ailsa Chang — an American journalist — says six jerseys that he wore throughout the tournament are now garnering millions of dollars in bids at an auction at Sotheby's in New York.

These jerseys might sell for $10 million, but in five years, 10 years, 20 years, they may sell for even more, predicts Billy Lesnak — marketing coordinator for Steel City Collectibles in Pittsburgh.

He further said the game-worn memorabilia tends to elicit those emotional responses more than just an image or just a video because it is a physical, tangible reminder of a specific sports moment.

“These game-worn jerseys are something that somebody can touch, something that they can frame, something that they can show off that they then own. It's a physical, tangible reminder of their favourite players, some way that they can get closer to the game that they can't in any other way.”

Simeon Lipman — a pop culture specialist and appraiser in upstate New York — said that the stains and the scents are part of the nostalgia and help an auction house piece together a provenance that these are the jerseys Messi wore.

“There's a grass stain here. There's a little tear there. There's a thread loose, you know, on the back. And they're able to actually pinpoint these little tiny things which make these jerseys authentic. So that's very important. And obviously, the provenance is of immense importance,” said Simeon Lipman, a sports memorabilia consultant.