Six jerseys worn by Messi during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar were auctioned for $7.803 million.

A six-piece kit worn by Lionel Messi during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar has sold for $7.803 million at Sotheby's. Although the price did not set the record for the most expensive sports item, it still broke the auction record for sports memorabilia this year, as well as the auction record for Messi's personal sports memorabilia.

According to the Sotheby's website, the Messi jersey included the shirt he wore in the first half of the two group games of the Qatar World Cup, the 2-1 victory over Australia in the eighth final, the penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands in the quarter-final, the 3-0 victory over Croatia in the semi-final and the penalty shootout victory over France.

After Argentina's World Cup semi-final against Croatia on December 13, 2022, Messi said in an interview with the Argentine media, "I am very happy to reach this goal, to end my World Cup campaign with a final." The next World Cup is still many years away and I don't think I can do it again, so ending this way is the best result." Finally, Messi's Argentina team won the World Cup in Qatar.

Although Messi is still with the Argentina national team for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, it is still unknown whether he can appear in the 23rd World Cup jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States in three years, which also makes the shirt price of Messi in the last World Cup.

All six jerseys played with Messi in last year's World Cup.

On the first day of the auction, the bidding price for the six jerseys reached $5.2 million, surpassing the price of Lakers player James' jersey in Game 7 of the 2013 Finals, which sold for $3.6 million at Sotheby's in January, and second only to the $5.6 million paid for Babe Ruth's 1928-30 New York Yankees jersey. And the late Lakers star Kobe Bryant's 2007-2008 MVP jersey for $5.8 million. According to Sotheby's estimates, Messi's shirt could set a record for sports memorabilia worn during a game at auction.

However, according to foreign media reports, after three bids, the jersey was finally auctioned by an anonymous buyer for $7.803 million, which did not break the record. In September 2022, the jersey worn by Michael Jordan in Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals was auctioned for $10.1 million, the highest price ever paid for sports memorabilia at auction. The "Hand of God" jersey of fellow late Argentine star Diego Maradona was sold at auction for $9.28 million in May 2022.

Still, the $7.803 million price broke Messi's personal auction record for sports memorabilia. The previous auction record for a Messi match shirt was $450,000 (sold in May 2022) for Barcelona's 2017 Derby against Real Madrid, in which Messi scored an injury-time winner.

According to a previous post by Messi on social media, a portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Children's Hospital in Barcelona for the treatment of children with rare diseases.