With the second-ever FIFA World Cup to be held (at least in part) on American soil under two weeks away, it seems only fitting that Brazilian icon Pelé’s 1958 game-worn jersey is set to go up for auction in New York.
The first of Pelé’s four World Cups, three of which he won, the 1958 tournament was held in Sweden, with the then Santos star just 17 years old at the time, having made his international debut a year earlier.
Pelé, who died in 2022, scored six goals in four appearances in the Nordic nation, including two in a 5-2 final win against Sweden, helping Brazil win the first of five titles, whilst being named the World Cup’s Best Young Player and winning the Silver Ball.
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The final saw Brazil wear blue jerseys as their usual yellow ones clashed with those of Sweden. The players themselves had to transfer the team badges from their yellow jerseys to the blue ones, whilst creating the numbers out of pieces of yellow equipment bags.
Pelé later gave his No.10 shirt from the final to teammate Dida, with the item sticking in the family until it was donated to the Museu dos Esportes Edvaldo Alves Santa Rosa in 1993. It was then auctioned off at Sotheby’s London in 2004 for $105,600 – making it the most expensive Pelé-related item ever sold at an auction.
Now valued at around $6 million, the jersey will be made available to bid upon via Sotheby’s between June 29 and July 16 – just three days before the World Cup final in New Jersey.
Sotheby’s Head of Modern Collectables, Brahm Wachter, said in a statement, “This is not merely a shirt – it is the garment worn by one of the greatest footballers in history on the night his reign began, passed by his own hand to a friend and preserved with care for more than six decades. Its historical importance is without parallel in the football memorabilia market and is inseparable from the legacy of the sport’s first true global icon.”
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The jersey will headline Sotheby’s ‘The Beautiful Game’ auction, which will include other “significant objects in football history.” Such objects include a 1958 Alifabolaget #635 Pelé Rookie Card, which is valued at an estimated $150,000 – 200,000.
Other storied items include Diego Maradona’s captain’s armband from the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, which was ultimately won by Argentina, and could go for around $100,000.
For Argentinian soccer fans, there will also be more opportunities to acquire items related to the national team’s storied history, including seven jerseys worn by Lionel Messi both domestically and internationally.
There will be a public exhibition of the items at the Breuer building in New York from July 1, with the star attraction being Pelé’s jersey.
Whether or not this will end up surpassing the existing “record for a game-worn item of football sports memorabilia,” Maradona’s jersey from the ‘Hand of God’ game, which was sold in London in 2022 for $9.3 million, remains to be seen.
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