Lionel Messi boots auctioned for a fortune

The football boots that Lionel Messi wore when he broke the record for the most goals scored for a single club will be auctioned at Christie's. The Adidas Nemeziz Messi 19.1, which were monogrammed with the names of Messi's wife and children, have a high estimate of £ 70,000 ($ 96,500), and the deals will run from April 19-30.

“We gave them an estimate that we hope will attract as much interest as possible,” says Dominic Thurlow-Wood, Christie's director of sales. “We expect a record price for a pair of football boots and we hope this is the case. All proceeds will go to charity”.

Argentine Messi wore the boots on December 22, 2020, when he scored his 644th goal with his club, FC Barcelona, in a match against Real Valladolid. When he threw the ball into goal, making it 3-0, he beat the world record, set by the football deity Pelé. Later, Messi signed the studs and allowed them to be exhibited at the National Art Museum of Catalonia, where they were placed on a pedestal inside a display case surrounded by metal struts.

The auction will benefit the art and health program of the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona. "Breaking the record of 644 goals for the same club made me very happy, but the most important thing is to be able to give something back to all the boys who fight for his health," Messi said in a statement. "We hope this auction serves to raise awareness about this great initiative, and I would like to thank everyone for supporting such an important cause to me". The auction comes at a time when the sporting goods market is on a seemingly endless hot streak.

In May 2020, a pair of game-worn Michael Jordan sneakers set a record when they sold for $ 560,000 at Sotheby's, a distinction that lasted only three months until another pair of Jordan shoes sold at Christie's for the US. $ 615,000. Earlier this month, a Tom Brady rookie card sold for $ 2.25 million at the Lelands sports auction house, nearly doubling the previous record set for a football card.

"We really believe that the world of soccer and other sports will follow the success we've seen with basketball," Thurlow-Wood said, citing a Messi's rookie card that sold for $ 117,000 and a bracelet that Cristiano Ronaldo wore that sold for $ 75,000 at a charity auction. "We believe that the world of football is about to flourish."