Pele auctions off memorabilia collection

Pele is auctioning off his entire collection of awards and memorabilia, with his winners medal from the 1962 World Cup final fetching £140,800 on Wednesday.

The legendary Brazilian – who was voted Player of the Century by FIFA in 2000 – has arranged for over 2,000 souvenirs he gathered during his distinguished career to be sold online.

That includes all three of his World Cup-winning medals, with each lot given an estimated price of £70,000-£140,000.

The 1962 trinket just cleared the higher end of the estimate but the 1958 version – won when Pele was just a teenager – went for far more than expected on Tuesday, selling for a final fee of £200,000.

The auction for the 1970 medal has yet to close, but a replica of the Jules Rimet trophy is expected to be the most expensive of all the items up for grabs. The starting price was set at £140,000, yet auctioneers Julien’s predict it could go for as much as £420,000.

“Having donated a significant portion of my collection to the city of Santos, I have decided to allow fans and collectors to own a piece of my history as well,” Pele explained. 

“I hope they treasure these artefacts and share my story with their children and generations to come. I will also be donating a portion of the proceeds from the auction to Pequeno Principe, the largest paediatric hospital in Brazil.”