Pele is putting his entire memorabilia collection up for auction next week in the greatest ever sporting sell off.
Three World Cup winners medals will take pride of place alongside over 2,000 items covering his career with Santos, Brazil and New York Cosmos and the various honours that he has picked up since hanging up his boots.
Beverley Hills based firm Julien’s will conduct the auction in London next week which is predicted to raise anything between £1.5m to £5m. Each of the World Cup winning medals, from 1958, 1962 and 1970 are valued at £140,000.
Explaining the decision to sell Pele said: “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.
“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.”
Martin Nolan, executive director at Julien’s Auctions said: “It is just phenomenal to see such a vast collection from one man in one room.
He’s 75 now and this is his legacy, and he wants to see these items all over the world in museums and in the hands of people who are going to cherish them and love them and appreciate them for many, many years to come.”
Having travelled extensively over the last 50 years Pele has collected gifts from around the world, among the items up for auction are a ball signed ‘Wish You Were Scottish’ from Rod Stewart and the boots used during the film Escape To Victory.
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