news-engine

MatchWornShirt, the world's largest match-worn memorabilia auction platform, has announced the “The GOATs” auction, the latest from former Manchester United masseur Rod Thornley, featuring shirts from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Rod’s previous auction set with MWS featured shirts from the iconic Manchester United Class of ‘92, including Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and David Beckham. Origin of the shirts The GOATs” auction is the latest from former Manchester United masseur Rod Thornle Credit: MWS This auction brings together the two defining players of the modern era. Both shirts come from fixtures against Manchester United, which is how Rod came to collect them during his years as a masseur with the club. Messi's shirt was worn in a friendly against United on 8th August 2012, while Ronaldo's was issued for a friendly against United on 2nd August 2014. Messi's worn and signed shirt came as Barcelona met United on the final leg of United's pre-season tour in 2012. The match finished 0-0, with Barcelona winning 2-0 on penalties. Messi started the match alongside Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Alexis Sánchez. As with all of MatchWornShirt's Legends Collections, these shirts were gathered by Rod across his years working alongside the Manchester United squad. Rod Thornley commented: "I messaged Gerard Piqué a couple of days before the game and said, I never ask you for anything, but I need Messi's shirt from this one. 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. He took it off, signed it to me while I sat there with him, and shook my hand. It was incredible." Auction details The auction will run from Wednesday, 12 August at 18:00 until Wednesday, 19 August at 16:00 BST. Details of the shirts on auction are available below: - Lionel Messi: Barcelona 2012/13 (Home) - Match-worn and signed (vs Manchester United on 8th August 2012) - Cristiano Ronaldo: Real Madrid 2014/15 (Home) - Match issued and signed (vs Manchester United on 2nd August 2014) For more information, please visit Rod Thornley's Legends Collection on MWS.com.