World Cup final ball could be sold for £200,000 in an auction

The ball from last year's World Cup final is set to go to auction this June and it could be sold for as much as £200,000.

The showpiece event at the Qatar 2022 tournament was one of the greatest finals of all-time as a pulsating clash saw Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties after a 3-3 draw.

Lionel Scaloni's side had been cruising after racing into a two-goal lead in the first half, before Kylian Mbappe inspired a France fightback, scoring twice in a minute to take the tie to extra time.

He then netted a penalty in the 118th minute to complete his hat-trick and level the game at 3-3 after Lionel Messi had put Argentina 3-2 up. La Albiceleste triumphed on spot kicks after some heroics from Golden Glove winner Emi Martinez.

Argentina's third World Cup triumph helped cement Messi's reputation as one of the greats of the game and the official match ball from the final will now be available for members of the public to bid for.

It will go under the hammer in June, courtesy of Graham Budd Auctions.

The ball received praise for being one of the greatest in the tournament's history and one lucky winner based overseas won it in a 'Win The Match Ball' competition run by Adidas after the final.

They have since decided to sell it on at a sports memorabilia auction on June 6 and June 7.

This auction will take place online at the Northampton auction house and has already received interest from around the world, with the ball expected to reach a figure of between £160,000 to £200,000.

The lucky winner remains anonymous but explained how he could barely believe his luck when finding out he had won the ball.

He explained: 'I entered the competition without really thinking about it, but when I heard I’d won, I honestly thought it was a scam.

'I still thought it couldn’t be legit even when the ball arrived. It’s an incredible story to be a part of, and the money it’ll hopefully make will honestly be life-changing.'

Head of sporting memorabilia at Graham Budd Auctions, David Convery added: 'This Adidas football is a fascinating and important piece of recent football history, especially when you consider the controversy around the tournament itself, alongside what it did for the reputation of players like Messi and Mbappe.

'Importantly, from a collector’s perspective, it's got the best possible paper trail. The ball is fully authenticated, and we can trace every part of its journey to date. That’s one of the reasons why we feel confident it’ll reach, or even go beyond, its estimated price.'