Michael Schumacher, Pelé, Lionel Messi and Ronaldo - unique pieces from great world athletes

As Germany's largest auction house, Eppli is hosting an extraordinary auction on March 25, 2023. Special items from outstanding athletes will be auctioned off at the Leinfelden-Echterdingen location, including an autographed leather soccer from the recently deceased soccer legend Pelé, a signed jersey from reigning world champion Lionel Messi, a signed soccer boot from soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo and gloves from boxer Mike Tyson. The highlight will be a Mercedes tire from Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher from 2011, which has been signed by hand by the multiple world champion and is considered to be unique/certified. But it's not just the individual items in the auction that are special - the story of how they found their way to Eppli is also astonishing.

Seven world championship titles, five of them in a row, 91 victories, 68 pole positions, 155 podium finishes - Michael Schumacher is considered one of the greatest Formula 1 racing drivers of all time. A tire signed by him on his legendary "Silver Arrow" is a rarity simply because the so-called slicks are usually destroyed immediately after a race. As a "race used" tire from PIRELLI including a rim from BBS from the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team, this tire is also proven to have been driven by "Schumi" in one of the 19 races in 2011. This fact and the authenticity of the signature are confirmed by a certificate issued by Michael Schumacher's management. This also applies to another unique item in the auction: a hand-signed seat shell from the Mercedes Silver Arrow in which Michael Schumacher drove a race in 2011.

Careful examination before starting.

"Objects of which there are few or no comparable examples are verified as unique," explains Sebastian Pumpmeier, responsible for the Historica division at Eppli. The situation is different with sales certificates, which are included with the other sports items in the auction. This means that even Tyson's gloves or Messi's jersey are genuine and the signatures come from the stars themselves. When evaluating the items, Eppli's experts do not rely solely on certificates. To ensure that bidders can be certain that the items to be auctioned are genuine, they delve deep into the history and background of the objects. They use critical questions to ascertain their authenticity: for example, did Michael Schumacher ever race in 2011? Which races did he take part in - and what did the Mercedes cars look like?

Pelé's ball and Tyson's glove, on the other hand, are not classified as unique items, as sports stars often sign several dozen or hundreds of objects as part of signature campaigns. Nevertheless, when soccer star Pelé passed away last year, not only Brazil was in mourning - the whole world said goodbye to an idol. That is why a ball signed by him has a special value. The starting price at the auction will be 300 euros, while the Schumi ball will go for 2,500 euros.

Further sporting auction items.

In addition to the items mentioned, there are other special objects in the pipeline, including many racing items. Their journey to Eppli tells an amusing story: the auction house cooperated with a collector who specializes in the space sector. He heard about a restaurant in Cyprus that was for sale and in which three space suits were on display. However, the restaurant owners didn't just want to sell the suits, but the entire interior, including many racing items. So in order to get the space suits, the collector agreed and bought the entire interior of the restaurant. After the sale, he had five hours to clear out the restaurant. "He then came to us for advice on what he could do with the sports equipment," recalls Sebastian Pumpmeier. The result is the auction on March 25, which can also be followed online.

Sports auction opens up new field.

"The auction is an exciting test run for us," says the auctioneer of the sports memorabilia auction at Auktionshaus Eppli, René Waldrab. If this auction is successful, another, more extensive auction is likely to follow - with new highlights from the world of top athletes.

Would you like to get an idea of the sports memorabilia auction? On the Eppli website you will find an overview of all the items to be auctioned as well as starting prices and information: