Lionel Messi on the verge of another record as £8m details drop
Football news: Lionel Messi shirts are poised to go up for action for a potential record amount
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Lionel Messi's World Cup final shirt is reportedly set to go to auction for an expected world record sale exceeding £8million.
The forward dazzled in Qatar last winter, propelling Argentina to a first triumph since 1986.
Messi was the standout player of the tournament and scored twice in the final as Argentina beat France on penalties.
He scored seven goals in the tournament, with only former Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Kylian Mbappe netting more.
Football news: Lionel Messi's shirt from the World Cup final will be among those to be sold at auction
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Now, six of Messi's shirts from that competition are poised to be sold at auction.
Sotheby’s in New York are expecting the sales to be a record, with a portion of the proceeds primed to go to charity.
With an estimated price of £8m, the auctioneers are hopeful it'll exceed a Michael Jordan jersey that sold for £8.1m in September of last year.
A press release read: "A year following Messi's crowning achievement, Sotheby's will present a set of six of Lionel Messi's match-worn Argentina shirts from his historic run in Qatar.
"Worn by the Argentine captain during the first half of the Final, Semi-final, Quarter-final, Round of 16, and two of the three Group Stage matches, the set of six white and sky blue Argentina home shirts will be offered in a dedicated sale open for bidding from 30 November - 14 December.
"The extraordinary collection is estimated in excess of $10 million, with the sale poised to become the most valuable collection of sports memorabilia at auction.
"The shirts are being brought to auction by US-based tech startup AC Momento, who in addition to their mobile app for sports fans, partners with high-profile athletes (like Messi) to help manage their match-worn memorabilia collections.
"A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to UNICAS Project, led by Sant Joan de Déu (SJD) Barcelona Children’s Hospital with the support of Leo Messi Foundation, to meet the needs of children suffering from rare diseases.
"This follows the work the Leo Messi Foundation has completed with the SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital Pediatric Cancer Center which treats 400 children with cancer each year.
"The set of shirts will be on view at Sotheby's New York in a free, public exhibition open from 30 November - 14 December."
John Brennan, Founder and CEO of AC Momento, added: “As a longtime collector of match-worn football memorabilia, this is the kind of auction I dreamed about bringing to market when we started AC Momento.
"The winner of this sale will enjoy a profound connection to the pinnacle moment in the career of the greatest player of all time and own the most important collection of football shirts from any single event in the history of the sport."
The record purchase for a Messi shirt worn by the football icon ranks at £360,000.
The jersey in question was sported by the Inter Miami star while he played for Barcelona against Real Madrid in 2017.
Messi, meanwhile, said last month that the current Argentina team could be the best football side in history.
"This team is incredible, every time they play they are very close to being the best in history," he said.
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"On a game level, I think we have grown. After winning the World Cup we are confident, very loose, more united and firm.
"Hopefully, we can continue to grow.”