LONDON, June 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Pele's 1958 World Cup winners' medal is 
expected to fetch £500,000 ($670,000) when it is auctioned in England later 
this month.

The medal, won by the Brazilian legend when he was a teenager, is part of a 
catalogue of 450 World Cup-related items being sold by sporting memorabilia 
specialists BUDDS, which estimates they will fetch œ2 million in total.

A Brazil shirt won by Pele in the 1958 final is estimated to sell for more 
than $6 million in a separate auction at Sotheby's in New York, which runs 
June 29 to July 16 -- three days before this year's World Cup final.

Pele, then just 17 years old, scored two of Brazil's five goals in the 1958 
final against host nation Sweden.

The victory marked the first of Brazil's record five World Cup titles, three 
of which were spearheaded by the striker known as "The King".

Pele, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, died in December 2022 at the age of 
82 after being diagnosed with colon cancer.

Other lots in the British auction include the shirt worn by England 
goalkeeper Gordon Banks when he made his famous save from Pele at the 1970 
World Cup in Mexico.

The auction also features memorabilia from England's 1966 World Cup triumph, 
including Banks' winners' medal and Alan Ball's shirt from the final.

"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," said David Convery, head of sporting 
memorabilia at BUDDS.

An online auction is running from June 1 to 21 featuring shirts from the 
nations competing at the 2026 World Cup, before a live sale on June 25 at 
BUDDS's auction rooms in Wellingborough, central England.