Lionel Messi Could Secure a $10 Million-Plus Place in Sports History

At the risk of painting with a broad brush, sports fans always have time for a good debate. And while there's plenty of room for different topics, all-time greatness is always a hit. That's not limited to the Big Four North American sports, either. Consider the Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo GOAT debate as an example of that reality.

But as the two stars near the end of their respective careers—even living legends can't play forever—Messi could be on the verge of adding another feather to his metaphorical cap. Not only is a chance at soccer history on the cards, but the Argentine could be on the verge of setting an all-time record across the sports world.

That success isn't going to come on the soccer field. Instead, the arena in question is an auction house.

Let's break it down.

Messi's World Cup Jerseys Are Up for Auction

While most American sports leagues refer to their season-winners as world champions, that title doesn't always make sense. Other countries, for example, play baseball. Are the Texas Rangers, for example, better than Japan's top team?

When it comes to soccer, though, things work a bit differently. While the World Cup doesn't literally feature every nation on planet earth, the qualifying process does give almost everyone a chance to compete.

That reality helps explain why Argentina's 2022 World Cup victory was such a big deal for Messi. The star had accomplished almost everything possible at the club level and piled up an incredible resume of individual awards. His trophy case, however, lacked the marker of global supremacy.

But, in 2022, that title finally arrived. After an opening-match loss to Saudi Arabia, Argentina embarked on a run to the World Cup Trophy, culminating in a dramatic win over France on penalty kicks. And Messi wasn't just carried to the crown; he scored seven goals in Qatar and also claimed the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.

That all combines to make anything associated with Messi's World Cup incredibly significant. So, you can imagine that an auction lot of multiple game-worn tournament jerseys from one of the game's top players will be a major deal.

That's where Sotheby's comes in.

According to the web listing, a group of six World Cup jerseys (two from the group stages, and one each from the round of 16, the quarterfinals, the semifinals and the final) will hit the block. The shirts were worn in the first halves of those matches, giving them a direct tie to Messi's rise to the top of the international mountain.

Jerseys Could Fetch a Historic Price

It goes without saying that six game-worn World Cup jerseys probably won't go cheap. But when you add Messi and the World Cup context into the mix, it's possible for the prices to surge through the roof.

As explained in a Sotheby's press release and confirmed in an email to Newsweek, the lot of jerseys "is estimated in excess of $10 million."

And while anything can happen at auction, that sum would write Messi's name in soccer history, if not global sports history.

The current record for the most-expensive piece of soccer memorabilia ever sold belongs to Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" jersey, which sold for a shade under $9.3 million in 2022. The overall sports record is held by a game-worn Michael Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals; that broke the $10 million mark in 2022, becoming the most-expensive piece of game-worn memorabilia ever sold.

And while you could argue that Messi's jerseys aren't a fair comparison—logic would dictate that six jerseys should be more valuable than one—setting a new high-water mark would certainly speak to his position in the all-time soccer pantheon.

Is he the sport's GOAT? That's for each individual fan to decide. The top spot in the sports auction world, however, is certainly up for grabs.