A Brazil national team shirt of football icon Pele is ready to be auctioned at £30,000 by Hanson’s Auctioneers group.
According to reports, the jersey was one of the two number 10 jerseys made for Brazil’s game in 1971 against Yugoslavia.
Pele, who featured in the match for Brazil national team in the match did not wear the shirt, and instead chose to give it to the team’s masseur.
An insightful and shrewed restaurant manager in Shropshire is said to have understood the value of the shirt although Pele had not hit the peak of his career then. He purchased the shirt with the hope that it would end up in football museum.
Now, the shirt is commanding a huge value in the market with the seller, who chose to be anonymous, eager to sell it out at £30,000.
The 33-year-old seller said he bought it from a private collector in 2020 and is proud to be the custodian of the amazing piece of football memorabilia.
He is now ready to let it out because he believes the shirt deserves a bigger stage and probably should be returned to its homeland in Brazil.
According to Hanson, the auctionneer, the long-sleeved garment was prepared alongside a short-sleeved version, with the latter being worn in the game against Yugoslavia.
After the match, Pele gave the unworn one to masseur Abilio Jose de Silva, nicknamed Nocaute Jack, who worked with the national team from the late-1960s to 1994, a World Cup-winning year for Brazil.
Now, with a letter of authenticity from the masseur’s daughter, the shirt will be sold at the firm’s Derbyshire saleroom on 15 February.
Pele died in December, 2022 after a long battle with cancer. News of his death took the world, particularly football fans, by storm.
Before his death, he was receiving treatment in Albeit Einstein hospital in Brazil’s capital Sao Paulo, where he was admitted into intensive care unit following his deteriorating health condition.
At a point, he was placed on palliative care after he failed to respond to treatments. The football legend finally gave up the host on December, 2022, and was laid to rest in a highly-publicised burial ceremony in his home town.
Pele was popularly known as the king of football due to his exploits in the game both in his club and international career.
Till his last moments on sick bed, he actively vouched for Brazil to win the 2022 World Cup, and was following every bits of the tournament.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Neymar, were among the high-profile football stars who mourned and paid tributes to the football legend after his demise.
He was the only player to win the World Cup three times, and was named Fifa’s Player of the century in 2000.
Pele is credited with scoring a world record 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances during a 21-year career, including 77 goals in 92 matches for his country.
