LONDON – It's a sports fan’s perfect storage solution: Metal lockers that once held the sweat-stained shirts and muddy cleats of some of the world’s greatest soccer players are up for auction.
Sotheby’s is selling 24 lockers from the dressing room of storied club Real Madrid. Used by the team between 2002 and 2022, they were removed from the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium during renovations.
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They went on public display at the auctioneer’s London showrooms on Wednesday.
The storage spaces once used by players including Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham. Zinedine Zidane, Sergio Ramos and Luís Figo are being sold individually, with bidding starting at 10,000 pounds ($12,600) apiece.
The lockers, and other artifacts from the team, are open for online bidding until Nov. 26 in the sale, a joint venture between Sotheby’s and Real Madrid “memorabilia partner” Pursuit 3 Marketing Group.
Sotheby’s said a portion of the auction proceeds would be donated to the club’s charitable Real Madrid Foundation.
Sotheby’s sports and modern collectibles specialist Brendan Hawkes said it was a privilege “to offer these historic relics that give the public a glimpse behind the gilded curtain of the legendary Santiago Bernabéu and one of the world’s most decorated football clubs.”
It’s also the latest sign that the world of sports memorabilia is booming, and spreading beyond the traditional mainstays of shirts and balls. In August, Sotheby’s sold Kobe Bryant’s locker from L.A.’s Staples Center for $2.9 million.
The all-time record for an item of sports memorabilia belongs to the jersey Babe Ruth wore when he famously called his shot during the 1932 World Series. It sold at Heritage Auctions in Dallas in August for $24.12 million