The shirt worn by Brazilian football icon Pele during the 1958 World Cup final has sold for $4.9 million at auction, Sotheby's announced on Thursday. The sale establishes the jersey as the most expensive piece of Pele memorabilia ever sold.
The auction, held in New York, attracted 10 bids from more than five bidders. The shirt's extraordinary value is closely tied to the historic match in which it was worn — a game that shaped the trajectory of Brazilian football and launched the career of one of the sport's most celebrated figures.
A Defining Moment in Football History
Pele, who died in 2022, was just 17 years old when he scored twice in Brazil's 5-2 victory over host nation Sweden in the 1958 World Cup final. The win secured Brazil's first-ever World Cup title, and Pele remains to this day the youngest player to have scored in a World Cup final.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele went on to become one of Brazil's — and the entire footballing world's — most iconic players. Sotheby's noted that images from the 1958 final have become "some of the most reproduced in the history of the sport," adding: "This shirt was there."
From $105,600 to $4.9 Million
The jersey's value has risen dramatically over the past two decades. According to Sotheby's, the same shirt previously sold at auction in 2004 for 70,505 pounds, approximately $105,600 at the time.
While the $4.9 million price tag is significant, Pele's shirt is far from the most expensive piece of sporting memorabilia ever sold. That distinction belongs to a baseball jersey worn by legendary batter Babe Ruth during the 1932 World Series, which sold for $24.1 million in 2024.