A Lionel Messi jersey from his FC Barcelona days was sold for 66,107 Dollars as it massively exceeded the price paid for a Cristiano Ronaldo jersey from the same collection. The Messi jersey, which appeared in the auction, was worn by the Argentine superstar during FC Barcelona’s 0-0 pre-season friendly against Manchester United in August 2012. The footballer later signed it for United masseur Rod Thornley. Meanwhile, the Ronaldo one was a match-issued Real Madrid jersey from the 2014-15 season and it was sold for 10,601 Dollars. The jerseys were a part of the Rod Thornley collection.
Thorney spent years as part of Manchester United and the position allowed him to build a collection of jerseys and other memorabilia. He revealed that he contacted former FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique before the 2012 friendly match and personally asked for Messi’s jersey.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙊𝘼𝙏𝙨
A match-worn Messi #10 from his 91-goal year, and a Ronaldo Real Madrid shirt signed with a personal message to Rod.
This is the kind of access you get when you’re in the locker room – and masseur Rod Thornley was in Manchester United’s for almost 20… pic.twitter.com/8Ivax1lZJP
— MatchWornShirt (@MatchWornShirt) August 12, 2026
“I messaged Gerard Pique a couple of days before the game and said, ‘I never ask you for anything, but I need Messi’s shirt from this one’.”
Pique came into the Manchester United dressing room after the match and took Thornley to the Barcelona dressing room.
“At the end of the game Gerard came into our dressing room, grabbed me, and walked me straight into theirs. Messi still had the shirt on his back.”
Messi removed his jersey, signed it and even shook hands with Thornley.
“He took it off, signed it to me while I sat there with him, and shook my hand. It was incredible,” he revealed in an interview.
On the other hand, the Cristiano Ronaldo jersey was prepared for a game but was not worn by the Portuguese star footballer. However, it featured a personal message to Thornley as he previously worked with Ronaldo during his time at United.
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