The legend of Brazilian football, Pele's jersey worn in the 1958 World Cup final, has been sold at auction for a record amount.
Medianews.az reports, citing "Qafqazinfo," that the shirt Pele wore in the final match against Sweden found a new owner at an auction held in New York for 4.88 million dollars.
This sale is considered the highest amount recorded among Pele's personal collection items to date. Thus, the jersey surpassed the record of Pele's first football card, which was sold for 1.33 million dollars in 2022.
In 1958, only 17 years old, Pele played a key role in Brazil's 5:2 victory over host Sweden by scoring two goals in the final match. He scored in the 55th and 90th minutes of that match, making history as the youngest footballer to score in a World Cup final.
After the match, the legendary player gifted his jersey to teammate Dida. Later, the jersey was donated to the sports museum in Rio de Janeiro and was sold for only 105,600 dollars at an auction held in 2004.
Brendan Houks, a representative of the auction house "Sotheby's," which organized the auction, stated that this jersey not only symbolizes one of the most important moments in football history, but is also a living memory of the event that turned Pele into a global sports icon.
This shirt, worn during Brazil's first World Cup victory, is currently the second most expensive jersey in football history. The record still belongs to Diego Maradona's famous "Hand of God" jersey worn against England in the 1986 World Cup. That jersey was sold for 9.28 million dollars in 2022.
At the same auction, Maradona's captain's armband from the 1986 World Cup was also put up for sale. The armband, used in matches against England and West Germany, found a buyer for 512,000 dollars.
