Six jerseys worn by Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi during the World Cup victory in Qatar were sold at auction today for $7.8 million, according to Sotheby’s auction house.
The final price of the jerseys that Messi wore in the first half of each match at the World Cup is the highest price of any sports item sold this year, according to the announcement.
The auction house did not say who bought the jerseys.
Messi wore the jerseys in matches against Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Australia, Holland, Croatia and France.
Last December, Argentina became the world champion for the third time, after beating France in the final after penalty kicks.
Ahead of the online auction, which ended today, the jerseys were on display for two weeks at Sotheby’s headquarters in New York.
Part of the proceeds will be forwarded to the UNIKAS project, which is run by a children’s hospital in Barcelona with the support of the Leo Messi Foundation, to help children suffering from rare diseases.
Messi, who currently plays for Inter Miami, spent 17 years at Barcelona.
At Sotheby’s, they hoped Messi’s jerseys would sell for a record sum for a sporting item, but that didn’t happen.
For now, the record is held by basketball legend Michael Jordan’s jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals, which was sold for $10.1 million in New York last year, Beta reports.
