Pelé shirt from 1958 World Cup final heads to auction for nearly R$30m | OneFootball

The legendary blue number 10 shirt worn by Pelé in the 1958 World Cup final in Sweden will be auctioned again.

Auction house Sotheby’s announced that the item, last sold in 2004, will be offered in New York between June 29 and July 16, during the 2026 World Cup.

The estimate is that the winning bid will exceed US$6 million (about R$30 million at the current exchange rate).

The current owner of the item, who has kept their identity secret, is the same buyer who acquired it 22 years ago.

At the time, the sale of the shirt involved a dramatic survival story behind the scenes of football in Alagoas.

🛡️ The Shirt That Saved a Museum

The relic arrived in Alagoas through Dida (Edvaldo Alves Santa Rosa), Pelé’s backup in the 1958 World Cup.

The shirt was kept in the care of Dida’s father and later his brother, Edson Santa Rosa.

In 1993, with the opening of the Sports Museum at Rei Pelé Stadium in Maceió, the family donated the item to the collection.

It quickly became the venue’s main attraction, affectionately called the "crown jewel." However, a decade later, the situation changed drastically.

In 2019, the museum’s then director, Lauthenay Perdigão (who died in 2021), told ge that in 2004 the venue was facing a terrible financial crisis, with moldy walls and an imminent risk of losing the entire collection.

The only way found to avoid closure was to auction Pelé’s shirt, with the agreement of the Santa Rosa family.

The item was sold at Christie’s for US$105,600 (about R$300,000 at the time).

After paying taxes, lawyers, and the agreed share to Dida’s family, the museum kept R$52,000, enough to renovate the space, fix leaks, and keep its doors open.

Featured photo: Sotheby’s

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.