Messi’s record-breaking boots auctioned off at $172,000

Lionel Messi’s record-breaking boots have been sold for 172,000 U.S. dollars at a charity auction.

According to sports media including ESPN on Saturday, Christy Auction said Messi’s soccer boots were sold in an auction to support Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain. The price is reportedly the highest ever for a pair of soccer boots auctioned off.

The Barcelona football star wore the boots on December 23 last year when he scored the most goals (644) a single player has scored for a single team at an away match against Real Valladolid FC in the Spanish Primera Liga. The boots were donated to the National Catalonia Museum for a month, before being put to an auction for supporting children with cancer. The auction started with the initial bid price of 55,264 dollars on April 20, and the bid price tripled on Thursday, the eve of the closing date.

The boots, which have been auctioned off, is “Nemeziz Messi 19.1” model from Adidas. The boots come with Messi’s signature and the names of his wife and two children.


Dong-Wook Kim creating@donga.com