Overview
- The jersey, which sold Thursday at Sotheby’s in New York, fetched $4.9 million after 10 bids from more than five bidders and was bought by an anonymous bidder.
- Sotheby’s said the price makes this the most valuable piece of Pelé memorabilia ever sold and the second‑most expensive football shirt at auction behind Diego Maradona’s 1986 jersey.
- Provenance traces the handmade No. 10 from Pelé to teammate Dida, then to Dida’s family and a Brazilian museum, and it was previously sold at auction in 2004 for about £70,505.
- The shirt is tied to a defining sporting moment: a 17‑year‑old Pelé scored twice as Brazil beat Sweden 5–2 to win the 1958 World Cup, and he remains the youngest player to score in a World Cup final.
- The result underscores strong demand at the top end of the sports‑memorabilia market and could push higher valuations for World Cup and Pelé items going forward.