Sotheby's auction house said that six shirts worn by Argentine player Lionel Messi during the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar were sold for $7.8 million. Among these shirts is the shirt that Messi wore in the final match against France, which contributed to Argentina winning its first world title since 1986, thus achieving the third world title for his country.
Despite expectations of a record price, the total amount paid for Lionel Messi shirts was less than the highest price ever paid for a match-worn shirt. The jersey worn by Michael Jordan in the 1998 NBA Finals holds the record for the highest price ever paid for a game-used jersey.
Michael Jordan holds the record for the highest price paid for a jersey, with his jersey selling in September 2022 for $10.1 million.
Although he did not achieve the world record, the final price of the Lionel Messi shirt is the highest for a sports souvenir shirt this year. The previous record was also held by Messi for his FC Barcelona shirt, sold for $450,000, which he wore in the Clásico match against Real Madrid in 2017.
The auction house, Sotheby's, did not initially reveal the identity of the party that purchased Lionel Messi's shirts. She also announced that a portion of the proceeds will be donated to charity.
On the other hand, the “Riyadh Season” announced the dates of the 2023 Season Cup matches, in which the American club Inter Miami will participate alongside the Al Hilal and Al Nassr clubs. These matches will also witness the participation of a number of international football stars, including Lionel Messi.
The American team Inter Miami will arrive in the capital, Riyadh, next January, to play its first match in the Riyadh Season Cup against both Al Hilal and Al Nassr.
In its first match in the tournament at the Kingdom Arena (Monday, January 29), Inter Miami, the holder of the American Football League Cup title, will face Al Hilal, which is currently at the top of the Saudi Roshan League.
In its second match (on Thursday, February 1), Inter Miami will face Al-Nasr Club in a match called “The Last Dance,” where the legendary football stars Cristiano Ronaldo from Al-Nasr and Lionel Messi from Inter Miami will face face to face on the ground again after another. A meeting between them in the Riyadh Cup last season.
The tournament will conclude next (Thursday, February 8) with the Riyadh derby between Al Hilal and Al Nasr, where the team that collects the largest number of points will be crowned with the championship cup.
In addition to Messi, who won the Ballon d'Or 8 times; Inter Miami's squad includes former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets; They are the ones who together as a trio won 5 Spanish League titles; In addition to the Champions League, Super Cup, and Club World Cup; During 9 seasons at Camp Nou before they met again in Miami last summer.
The Riyadh Season Cup matches are expected to witness strong competition between Saudi Professional League players. The Al-Nasr team includes the captain of the Portuguese national team, Ronaldo, and the league’s top scorer. The 5-time Champions League winner, in addition to prominent players such as Sadio Mane; Champions League winner with Liverpool; And former Inter Milan captain Marcelo Brozovic.
The Al Hilal team, which achieved second place in the Club World Cup last year, includes a group of the most prominent talents in football. These players include Sergej Milinković-Savic, the former Lazio midfielder, and Salem Al-Dosari, the Saudi international and current best player in Asia. The team also includes striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, a former Fulham player, who ranks second after Ronaldo in the Saudi Professional League’s top scorers this season.
