The match-worn No. 10 shirt worn by the late Pelé in the 1958 World Cup final will go up for online auction between June 29 and July 16, Sotheby’s announced on Tuesday.
Pelé was just 17 years old when he scored twice as Brazil defeated hosts Sweden 5-2 at the Rasunda Stadium in Stockholm, making him the youngest player ever to score in a World Cup final.
“This is not merely a shirt, it is the garment worn by one of the greatest footballers in history on the night his reign began,” said Brahm Wachter, head of Sotheby’s modern collectibles, in a statement.
With an estimated value of more than $6 million, the jersey is expected to become the most valuable piece of memorabilia belonging to Pelé, the only man to win the World Cup three times in 1958, 1962, and 1970.
The last time the 1958 Pelé World Cup shirt changed hands was at a Christie’s sale in 2004. Should the estimate be met or exceeded, it would still fall short of the current record for a football jersey the $9.28 million paid for a Diego Maradona shirt in 2022.
The timing of the sale adds to its cultural weight. As football fans prepare for the 2026 World Cup, the auction coincides with a public exhibition of the shirt opening July 1 at Sotheby’s Breuer building in New York.
Pelé went on to win his third World Cup title in 1970 in Mexico one of the three host nations of this year’s tournament alongside the United States and Canada and the same Azteca Stadium that witnessed that triumph will host the opening game of the 2026 edition.
For collectors and football historians alike, the shirt represents not just a garment but the precise moment a teenage boy from Brazil announced himself to the world.