Brazilian legend Pele brings Sporting stars together for Charity Auction as noted in football news. The only player to have won three World Cup medals and a man often called the greatest footballer of all time said all the money raised will help Brazil’s fight and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
So far, 575,000 people have died due to COVID-19 in Brazil, the second-highest death toll in the world after the United States. Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe will go up for sale next month at an auction organized by Pele, which he created in 2018 to help underprivileged children.
“Pelé is such a legend, he is an icon and other sports stars are looking up to him,” Martin Nolan, executive director and chief financial officer of Julian’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, told Reuters.
Pelé provided some of his own items for the September 22 auction, but also sought favors from friends in the world of sports and entertainment. Santos and New York Cosmos have T-shirts and photos signed by Pele, 80, and other former Brazilian teammates, such as Rivelino, Jerzinho, and Clodoaldo.
Mario Zagallo, coach of the respected 1970 World Cup winning team in Brazil, who turned 90 earlier this month, also contributed, as did Neymar, Roberto Baggio, and Roger Mila.
World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer signed a series of photographs from his days in the New York Cosmos and West Germany. There is a match ball from the 2015 Champions League final, and T-shirts and equipment used in basketball, football, field hockey, and water polo are also in trend.
One of the elements expected to fetch a high price is a gold-plated bronze piece of Pele’s foot, made by renowned sculptor Dante Mortet. In addition to football, Justin Timberlake, Maria Sharapova, Mark Wahlberg, and the NBA donated items.
This is not the first auction organized by Pele. In 2016, it auctioned off more than 1,600 items from a collection that attracted over six decades of attention and raised £3.6m ($4.90m). This latest auction will take place at the Mall Gallery in London and is also open to online bidders.
