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Doha: Lionel Messi has revealed that his last ever World Cup shirts will be auctioned to football fans during and after matches thanks to a new partnership between the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and football-culture marketplace AC Momento.
Widely considered the greatest player of all time, Messi will captain the Albiceleste in Qatar, fighting to emulate his compatriot and football icon Diego Maradona: the last Argentine to lift the World Cup trophy back in 1986.
Maradona’s match-worn shirt from the now legendary 1986 World Cup quarter-final win over England was auctioned earlier this year for $8.95million and broke the record for the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold.
“Argentina is one of the best teams in the world and without question one of the favourites this month in Qatar,” shared John Brennan, Founder & CEO of AC Momento.
“Given this is the final time we’ll see Lionel Messi on the World Cup stage, it would be a fitting end to see him lift the Jules Rimet trophy and cement his legacy as the greatest to ever play the game.
"Should they be successful, we can only speculate as to the value of those Argentina shirts – but it’s safe to say that any football fan would be proud to own such a historical item and I’m grateful that through our partnership with the AFA and the support of Messi, AC Momento can bring this unique opportunity to fans and collectors.”
Fans will also be able to bid on the match-worn shirts of superstar names including Julian Alvarez, Angel Di Maria, Paulo Dybala, Lisandro Martinez, Rodrigo De Paul and many more, as they face off against Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland in the World Cup group stages.
Auctions will open on the Momento Market mobile app (iOS, Android) at kickoff of each respective game, and enter a period of extended bidding after the match. Successful bidders will receive the shirt, alongside a digital Certificate of Authenticity (dCOA) that includes a unique identifier that tracks back to an authentication label affixed to the associated jersey.
Sports memorabilia has never been more popular, with the category holding a market worth of an estimated $4.14bn globally.
