A World Cup winners’ medal given to Pele is expected to reach up to £500,000 when it goes up for a special auction later this month.
The medal was awarded to Pele as a teenager, and will go under the hammer this month alongside more than 450 lots, including the jersey worn by goalkeeper Peter Shilton at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, and the shirt worn by Gordon Banks when he made his famous save against Pele in 1970.
The auction also features memorabilia from England’s 1966 World Cup victory, including Banks’ winners’ medal and Alan Ball’s shirt from the final.
Organised by sports memorabilia specialists BUDDS, the auction is expected to reach more than £2 million in total sales after receiving “strong interest” from collectors around the world. David Convery, head of sporting memorabilia at BUDDS, said: “This is the largest collection of World Cup memorabilia ever offered at auction, and it is difficult to imagine many sales that could rival it in terms of historical significance.”
