Set of six Lionel Messi World Cup shirts sells for £6.1m at auction in New York

A shirt worn by Lionel Messi in a match for Argentina against Saudi Arabia in the 2022 Fifa World Cup on display at Sotheby’s in New York (Peter K Afriyie/AP)

Six football shirts worn by Lionel Messi during Argentina’s winning run at last year’s World Cup have sold for 7.8 million dollars (£6.1 million), auction house Sotheby’s announced.

The final price for the shirts, each worn during the first half of one of Argentina’s games at the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar, is the highest price for an item of sports memorabilia this year, Sotheby’s said.