Brazil

Pelé's 1958 World Cup Final Shirt Fetches $4.9M at Auction

Is Pelé's shirt a priceless piece of history or another collectible in American sports' shadow?

Published JUL 18

Pelé's 1958 World Cup Final Shirt Fetches $4.9M at Auction

Story

Above: The jersey worn by Pele during the 1958 FIFA World Cup final at the Sotheby's Breuer building in New York, on July 1. Image credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

The jersey Pelé wore during Brazil's 5-2 victory over Sweden in the 1958 FIFA World Cup final sold for $4.9 million at Sotheby's in New York on Thursday, making it the most valuable piece of Pelé memorabilia ever sold at auction.
Football Tweet on X
Reuters
GB News
The shirt received 10 bids from more than five bidders and is now the second-most expensive football jersey ever auctioned, behind Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" shirt from the 1986 World Cup, which sold for $9.3 million in 2022.
BBC News
Wionews
Pelé was 17 years old when he scored in the 55th and 90th minutes of the 1958 final and remains the youngest player to score in a FIFA World Cup final. He died in 2022 at the age of 82.
ESPN
Jamaica Observer
After the 1958 final, Pelé gifted the shirt to his teammate Dida, who later donated it to the Museu dos Esportes in Rio de Janeiro. The museum auctioned it in 2004, where it sold for $105,600.
The Athletic
Reuters
Also sold at the same Sotheby's auction was Maradona's 1986 World Cup captain's armband, photo-matched to the quarterfinal against England and the final against West Germany, which fetched $512,000.
BBC News
ESPN
Pelé remains the only player to win three FIFA World Cups, claiming titles with Brazil in 1958, 1962 and 1970. The most expensive sports jersey ever sold is Babe Ruth's 1932 World Series jersey, which fetched $24 million in 2024.
Wionews
Al Jazeera

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Pelé's 1958 World Cup shirt isn't just a piece of fabric, it's the garment that marked the birth of football's first true global icon. A 17-year-old scoring twice in a World Cup Final that delivered Brazil's first-ever world title, wearing a jersey hastily hand-stitched before the match, is the kind of history that simply cannot be replicated. It's no surprise that it's now the most valuable piece of Pelé memorabilia ever sold at auction.

Sotheby's

Narrative B

Pelé's shirt fetching $4.9 million is impressive, but let's keep perspective — it's not even close to the top of the sports memorabilia market. Babe Ruth's 1932 World Series jersey sold for $24.1 million in 2024, and Michael Jordan's 1998 NBA Finals jersey cleared $10.1 million. Soccer shirts, even legendary ones, still trail American sports icons when it comes to commanding the biggest auction prices.

Al Jazeera