"Football is the best sport in the world," Blaise Matuidi said at a preview event in New York this week. "I know we're in America, but worldwide football is the best." Coming from a man who slid across the pitch in the Moscow rain after France lifted the 2018 World Cup trophy, that's not a talking point. That's lived experience.
The occasion was the launch of a three-day jersey exhibit curated by MatchWornShirt, a Dutch company that auctions game-worn shirts. Running through Sunday in New York, the pop-up puts some of football's most storied threads in one room: Maradona's shirt from the 1990 World Cup against the Soviet Union, Marco Tardelli's from the 1982 final, Robin van Persie's from that diving header against Spain in 2014, and Mbappé's from the 2018 final against Croatia.
Not Just Nostalgia — There's a Market Angle Here
MatchWornShirt didn't fly these jerseys to Manhattan purely out of love for the game. The company works with over 300 club and national teams worldwide, including all three host nations — the US, Mexico, and Canada — and more than 20 World Cup participants. In May 2025, they signed an exclusive deal with US Soccer to auction off game-worn men's and women's national team shirts.
Once matches begin, fans can bid on jerseys in real time as players come off the pitch. The American collector market has grown sharply in recent years, and a tournament on home soil is the kind of accelerant that turns casual interest into serious money.
Co-founder Bob Zonderwijk put it plainly: "If Ronaldo were to reach the final and potentially win his first World Cup, that would be a huge moment." A 40-year-old lifting the trophy for Portugal would make whatever shirt he wore that night the most sought-after piece in the auction's history. That's not hype — that's supply and demand.
Matuidi's Rain, and What the Exhibit Actually Delivers
The jerseys came from collectors, museums, and players' own wardrobes scattered across the world. The Maradona shirt is owned by an Italian collector. Matuidi's 2018 final shirt is still at his home — "it started raining and everything got very wet, but it was OK. It was a good rain," he said — which explains why the exhibit works with what it can source rather than what you'd ideally want.
Still, the lineup is serious. Tardelli's shirt from the moment he scored in the '82 final against West Germany — the one that produced that iconic celebration — is a piece of football documentation, not just memorabilia.
- Diego Maradona — 1990 World Cup vs. Soviet Union
- Marco Tardelli — 1982 World Cup Final vs. West Germany
- Robin van Persie — 2014 World Cup vs. Spain
- Cristiano Ronaldo — World Cup appearance shirt
- Kylian Mbappé — 2018 World Cup Final vs. Croatia
The 2025 World Cup runs through July 19 across the United States, Mexico, and Canada — 48 teams, 104 matches, the biggest edition the tournament has ever staged. Whether the exhibit converts New York football tourists into lifelong shirt collectors remains an open question. But for anyone who already knows what these jerseys represent, getting within arm's reach of them is something else entirely.
