Pele's Historic 1958 FIFA World Cup Final Brazil Game-Worn Jersey Sells for $4.9M at Auction

The 1958 FIFA World Cup marked Brazil's first-ever victory and Pelé's debut on the global stage.

Now Pelé's No. 10 shirt from the World Cup Final, which featured the global icon scoring twice in a 5-2 victory over Sweden, has sold at Sotheby's for $4.9 million.

Per a statement from the auction house, the shirt received 10 bids from more than five bidders before landing on the final price.

It is now the most valuable Pelé memorabilia item sold at an auction and the second-most valuable shirt ever sold in history.

No. 1 is Argentinian star Diego Maradona's shirt (sold for $9.3 million) from the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal against England, in which Maradona scored two goals (including the "Hand of God" goal) in a 2-1 win en route to World Cup victory. That shirt was sold at Sotheby's in 2022.

Pelé, of course, is arguably the greatest soccer star who ever lived. On that day in 1958, he became the youngest player to ever score in a World Cup Final, and that record will stand through 2026 as well.

He scored six goals over in the three-round knockout bracket, including a hat trick against France in a 5-2 semifinal victory.

Pelé scored 757 goals in 831 official matches over his career (680 in club matches and 77 goals in 92 international matches). On the club level, he starred for Santos in Brazil for nearly two decades before moving stateside and playing for the New York Cosmos. For Brazil, Pelé helped lead his home country to three World Cup victories in 1958, 1962 and 1970. He won the Golden Boot in 1958 and 1970.

In 1999, both the International Olympic Committee and FIFA named Pelé as their choice for the Athlete of the Century.