Dembele eclipses Yamal with record-breaking auction amid Ballon d'Or race
The high-stakes battle for the Ballon d'Or between Ousmane Dembélé and Lamine Yamal just spilled over into the world of luxury sports memorabilia.
Dembélé, who has emerged as the red-hot favorite for football’s ultimate individual prize following Paris Saint-Germain's historic back-to-back UEFA Champions League title win over Arsenal, has completely obliterated a record previously held by the Barcelona wonderkid, News.Az reports, citing Talk Sport.
A match-worn, signed Dembélé jersey from the final—where he scored a crucial penalty to help PSG secure the trophy—just sold on the auction platform MatchWornShirt for a staggering £138,036 to a bidder in the United States.
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The jaw-dropping fee easily eclipsed the previous record set by Yamal in May. The Spanish teenager’s shirt from Barcelona's 7-2 thrashing of Newcastle United originally held the top spot at £65,359.
Dembélé wasn't the only Parisian superstar to leave Yamal's record in the dust. American bidders went into a frenzy for multiple PSG heroes following the final:
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia: £131,147
Desire Doue: £113,316
Marquinhos: £112,563
In total, the French giants raked in a combined £642,775 from the final auction alone, drawing 255 bids from 47 different countries.
While Dembélé now rules the football category, he still has one ultimate sports memorabilia record left to conquer. The most expensive item in MatchWornShirt history belongs to Dutch Olympic speed skater Jutta Leerdam. Her gold medal-winning, Olympic record-setting suit from the Milan–Cortina Winter Games fetched a massive £175,913 in March, dethroning Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, experts note that if Dembélé can follow up his Champions League success with a World Cup trophy this summer and lock down the Ballon d'Or, his £138k kit could skyrocket even further in value.
By Aysel Mammadzada
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