Pelé's shirt from the 1958 World Cup final sold for $4.9 million

The shirt worn by the late Brazilian legend Pelé in the 1958 FIFA World Cup final was sold for $4.9 million at a public auction in New York City.

Pelé, who was 17 years old at the time, wore the number 10 shirt during Brazil’s 5-2 victory over Sweden in the World Cup final. He became the youngest player to score in a World Cup final, a record that still stands today, according to British news agency PA Media.

Sotheby’s auction house stated that the sale made Pelé’s shirt the second most expensive football shirt ever sold, after the shirt worn by the late Argentine Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup. Maradona wore it when he led his national team to a 2-1 win over England in the quarter-finals, scoring his famous “Hand of God” goal. That shirt was sold in 2022 for $9.3 million.