July 16 (Reuters) – The shirt worn by Brazil great Pele when he scored twice in the 1958 World Cup final has sold for $4.9 million at auction, becoming the most valuable piece of memorabilia linked to the football legend, Sotheby’s said on Thursday.
• The number 10 shirt, worn by the then 17-year-old as Brazil beat hosts Sweden 5-2 in Stockholm to win their first world title, attracted 10 bids from more than five bidders, the auction house said.
• The sale made it the second-most expensive football shirt sold at auction, behind the $9.3 million paid in 2022 for the shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored his “Hand of God” goal for Argentina against England at the 1986 World Cup.
• Pele, who died in 2022 aged 82, scored twice in the 1958 showpiece and remains the youngest player to score in a World Cup final.
• The shirt had previously sold at auction in 2004 for 70,505 pounds ($105,600), according to Sotheby’s.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot)
