The shirt worn by Brazil football icon Pele when he scored two goals to bring his team to victory in the World Cup final of 1958 has sold for $4.9 million. Sotheby's, the auction house that facilitated the sale, said on Thursday that the shirt has become the most expensive piece of Pele memorabilia ever sold.

The shirt received 10 bids from more than five bidders in an auction in New York. It is particularly valuable because of the game the Brazilian wore it in.

Pele, who died in 2022, was 17 when he scored twice in Brazil's 5-2 win over hosts Sweden in the final. He was, and remains, the youngest player to score in a World Cup final. That game secured Brazil its first World Cup victory.

The images of the 1958 World Cup final have become "some of the most reproduced in the history of the sport," Sotheby's said, adding: "This shirt was there."

The shirt had previously sold at auction in 2004 for £70,505 ($105,600). While expensive, Pele's shirt is not the most expensive piece of sporting memorabilia ever sold. That record belongs to a baseball jersey worn by Babe Ruth in the 1932 World Series, which sold for $24.1 million in 2024. Other high-value items include Michael Jordan's 1998 NBA Finals jersey ($10.1 million) and Diego Maradona's 1986 World Cup quarterfinal jersey ($9.2 million).

Source: www.aljazeera.com