Digital artwork of Lionel Messi's favorite goal sold for $1.87M to mystery buyer
Advertisement
All proceeds from the auction will benefit the Inter Miami Foundation, which plans to use the funds to support a variety of charitable initiatives. This includes a partnership with UNICEF aimed at enhancing education programs in Argentina, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti.
In an exclusive interview with The Athletic before the auction, Anadol expressed his hope the sculpture won't disappear into private hands. 'This isn't just a collaboration between two people, it's a dialogue between two disciplines,' he said. 'It's not artist meets artist; it's sport meets art. And that's what makes it so fresh and powerful.'
Anadol spent several weeks creating this one of a kind digital art project using machine and AI to reconstruct Messi's most personal favorite goal in 3D, effectively bringing a 16-year-old memory into the present with technology that didn't exist in 2009.
The goal itself was a masterpiece. In 2009, a 22-year-old Messi was playing for Pep Guardiola's Barcelona against Manchester United, facing his future arch-rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, only weeks before the Portuguese star's move to Real Madrid that summer. In the 70th minute of the Champions League final in Rome's Stadio Olumpico, with Barcelona already up 1–0, Xavi Hernández floated a pinpoint cross into the box. Despite standing just 5 ft 7 in (1.65 meters) tall, Messi (nicknamed La Pulga, 'the Flea' in English for his small stature,) rose above the towering 6'2' Rio Ferdinand and met the ball with a perfectly timed header, sending it curling into the far corner of the net. He leapt so high his boot flew off, but it didn't matter. With arms outstretched and a grin of disbelief, Messi celebrated a goal that would go down in history.
'It's hard to choose just one, there have been so many,' Messi told the crew who interviewed him a few months ago in an interview that has not been shared with the public until now. 'That goal is my favorite,' he smiled. 'It was the most beautiful and unique, because it was a header, I jumped really high, which is rare for me,' he explained.
Advertisement
'To see a work of art born from Messi's most cherished goal not only captivate thousands of visitors but also generate vital support for children's education across Latin America and the Caribbean is profoundly moving,' Ximena Caminos, the curator who facilitated the collaboration, said in a statement after the auction. 'This sale is a testament to the power of art, technology, and sport to create real-world impact. We hope this is just the beginning — that many more around the world will have the chance to experience this emotional, immersive journey into memory, movement, and meaning.'
Anadol's work has been on display at Christie's New York in Rockefeller Center since July 12, coinciding with Christie's 10th Art+Tech Summit Over ten days, thousands of soccer fans, collectors and art lovers experienced the artwork in person according to Sebastian Sanchez, Christie's manager of digital sales. The bid started at $1.5million (£1.1m).
This is not Anadol's first charity sale. Three years ago, Christie's sold another mutant digital sculpture he created inspired by Gaudí's Casa Batlló for $1,380,000. A few years later, in 2024 a collection of six shirts worn by Lionel Messi during the 2022 World Cup became the most expensive sports memorabilia sold that year after being bought at auction for $7.8million (£6.1m).
In terms of the future of A Goal in Life, the public displays ended with the auction. The buyer of this one of a kind 20 feet by 12 feet digital art piece will be able to work with the artist's studio to install the piece wherever they choose, providing their own hardware.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
MLS Brings Lionel Messi Cam Back to TikTok
Lionel Messi will star in an exclusive TikTok livestream during Inter Miami's Aug. 2 Leagues Cup matchup with Necaxa as part of Major League Soccer's continued audience expansion efforts, MLS announced Thursday. A Messi-focused camera will track the 38-year-old Argentine superstar throughout the game, in a mobile-friendly vertical format with custom graphics. MLS rolled out a similar offering in October 2024 and drew 6.4 million viewers across the league and team's TikTok pages. That game, Messi's playoff debut, became the most widely viewed sporting event in Apple history, the company said later. A total of four Messi cam streams, dubbed 'Player Spotlight: Messi' are planned this year. More from Austin FC Valuation Crosses $900M as New Investors Join Cap Table Apple's Pricey F1 Bid Puts Tech Titan in Pole Position for Media Rights Sporticast 465: The Tour de France Is Back 'Everything we're doing is focused on fan growth,' MLS EVP of media Seth Bacon said in an interview. 'We're a league that is going to put the content where the people are. … Everything is on Apple, but we're also going to find you in other ways, so that you can see it, experience it, and then you know that it's on Apple.' In the third season of MLS' $2.5 billion Apple tie-up, the league has launched a new Sunday Night Soccer tentpole, increased MLS Season Pass access on Android devices and introduced various distribution agreements with Comcast, DirecTV and T-Mobile. Select games also air on Fox networks and, after the fact, on regional sports networks. Certain matches stream within EA Sports FC's mobile app. Sunday Night Soccer airs on linear networks internationally with a reach of 260 million households. MLS commissioner Don Garber said Wednesday that the league is averaging 120,000 unique viewers per Season Pass stream in 2025, an 'almost 50%' increase over last year, in large part due to the increased distribution partnerships. Meanwhile, MLS and TikTok announced a multiyear partnership in April that brings live match highlights and fan reactions to the platform. MLS held its All-Star Game, a battle with Liga MX's All-Stars, on Wednesday night in Austin. The event was streamed on Amazon Prime Video. Messi and his Inter Miami teammate Jordi Alba sat out despite the league believing they might participate as recently as this week. There is no indication, however, that Messi's status is in jeopardy for Inter Miami's upcoming Leagues Cup match in which his every move will be streamed on TikTok. The Leagues Cup has a new format this year, with 18 teams each from Liga MX and MLS competing and a bracket system that will lead to four quarterfinal affairs pitting Mexican squads against northern neighbors. Messi made his MLS debut in the Leagues Cup in 2023. Two years into Messi's time with MLS, Bacon said Inter Miami in particular has seen an uptick in interest from new fans. On TikTok, the club has 12.1 million followers, about six times as many as the Florida Panthers, Miami Heat and Miami Marlins combined. MLS has worked with the club to turn those fans into MLS game viewers who come to learn more about the rest of the league as well. MLS is also focused on content recommendation and personalized marketing initiatives to tailor the offering for newcomers, with an eye both towards Messi's remaining time in the league as well as opportunities around next year's World Cup, hosted in North America. 'We have the ability to say, 'Hey, come this way, or come this way or come this way,' Bacon said. 'We've got ways to entertain and engage people, no matter what level of interest they have.' Best of Tennis Prize Money Tracker: Which Player Has Earned the Most in 2025? Browns Officially Get Public Money for New Stadium in Ohio Budget WNBA Franchise Valuations Ranking List: From Golden State to Atlanta
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Where do all 30 teams stand one week from the MLB trade deadline?
Yahoo Sports AM is our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it every weekday morning. 🚨 Headlines ⚽️ MLS wins All-Star Game: Despite Lionel Messi's absence, the MLS All-Stars beat the Liga MX All-Stars, 3-1, in Austin for their third win in four tries under this format. Philadelphia forward Tai Baribo, who scored the game-winning goal, was named MVP. ⚾️ Ohtani homers again: Shohei Ohtani homered in his fifth straight game, tying six other Dodgers for the longest such streak in franchise history. And just like that, he holds the outright NL lead with 37 bombs. ⚽️ Spain moves on: Spain beat Germany, 1-0, in extra time to advance to Sunday's Women's Euro final, where they'll face defending champion England in a rematch of the 2023 World Cup final, which Spain won. 🏈 Training camp headlines: "[Russell Wilson] is our starter," said Giants coach Brian Daboll; Daniel Jones got more reps than Anthony Richardson as the Colts' QB1; Terry McLaurin, Micah Parsons and Trey Hendrickson are among the seven most notable holdouts (or hold-ins). ⚾️ Rare occurrence: The Pirates became the first team since 1980 to get swept by the worst team in a league (White Sox) and then sweep the best team in that league (Tigers) in back-to-back series after the season's midpoint. ⚾️ MLB trade deadline: Where do all 30 teams stand? The 2025 MLB Trade Deadline is one week from today (July 31). Where does each team stand? Below, Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz puts all 30 clubs into tiers based on their outlook. Full buy Teams with legitimate World Series aspirations, who, like all of us, could use a little bit of extra support. 9 teams: Cubs (60-42), Astros (60-42), Blue Jays (60-42), Dodgers (60-43), Mets (59-44), Phillies (58-44), Yankees (56-46), Padres (55-47), Mariners (54-48) The Brewers and Tigers Outstanding ballclubs with strong farm systems that should be all-in, but given their transactional track records and organizational DNA, it's unlikely that the chips go flying into the pot. 2 teams: Brewers (61-41), Tigers (60-43) Stand pat/thread the needle Clubs likely to either sit on their hands or participate in a little buy/sell dribble-drabble. They're too good to full sell but not good enough to full buy, so they'll do neither or both. 5 teams: Giants (54-49), Rangers (53-50), Rays (53-50), Reds (53-50), Angels (49-53) The Red Sox Given the roller coaster that has been their season thus far, the Red Sox exist in their own tier. What the hottest baseball soap opera of 2025 will do at the deadline is anyone's guess. 1 team: Red Sox (55-49) The teams with the keys Clubs that, if they decide to pull the plug, have enviable assets to sell. How they perform over the next week will likely determine their course of action at the deadline. 5 teams: Cardinals (52-51), Guardians (51-10), Diamondbacks (50-53), Royals (50-53), Twins (49-53) Light sell You can't have an estate sale with an empty house. These subpar teams simply don't have many expiring contracts to trade and would prefer to hold on to anybody who can help them in 2026. 5 teams: Marlins (48-53), Braves (44-57), Athletics (42-62), Nationals (41-61), Rockies (26-76) Obvious full sell Anything and everything must and will go. 3 teams: Orioles (44-57), Pirates (42-61), White Sox (37-66) More from Yahoo Sports: The top 26 players who could be traded (Russell Dorsey) The most glaring needs for top contenders (Jordan Shusterman) 🎧 Fresh podcast: Deals we'd like to see (Baseball Bar-B-Cast) 🏈 Could Saban return to the NFL to coach Manning? I'm a sucker for a juicy sports rumor, and it's hard to get much juicier than this: Could Nick Saban return to the NFL next season to coach Arch Manning? Here's Colin Cowherd on Wednesday's episode of "The Herd" on FS1: This is the worst kept secret in the South. Jimmy Haslam, owner of the Browns — huge SEC, Tennessee booster, leans heavily on the Manning family. Very close to the Manning family. Arch Manning is part of the Manning family. Nick Saban is incredibly close not only to Jimmy Haslam, but to the Manning family as well. And so Saban, if he could land, I'm told, a top quarterback — like Harbaugh going to the Chargers for [Justin] Herbert — he would take a phone call from the NFL. And there are two teams guaranteed to be awful this year in the NFL: Cleveland and the Saints. Nick Saban has coached in Cleveland with the Browns … and he coached at LSU. The Mannings are royalty in New Orleans … and the Mannings are royalty to Jimmy Haslam. Haslam's circle of trust, according to an article in The Athletic last year, is the Manning family and Jimmy Sexton. Sexton is Nick Saban's agent. … This story is a poorly kept secret. The Mannings. Haslam. Jimmy Sexton. Nick Saban. … Saban's not going to college. He would take a call in the NFL. … This is not a conspiracy theory. To recap: Arch Manning could be a top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and the Browns and Saints could be candidates to select him. The Mannings have connections to both franchises, as does Nick Saban, who is close to the Mannings. Could that result in Saban returning to the sidelines next season with Arch as his signal-caller? Let the speculation begin. ⛳️ Ryder Cup standings Golf's major season is over, and while the race for the FedEx Cup playoffs continues today at the 3M Open in Minnesota, the more intriguing race is for the 24 coveted spots at the Ryder Cup in September. How it works: The top six Americans in the Ryder Cup rankings following the BMW Championship on Aug. 17 will automatically make the team, as will the top six Europeans following the Betfred British Masters on Aug. 24. The final six players on each side will then be chosen by the captains. Below, the current top 12 for each team… 🇺🇸 USA Just two players have guaranteed their spots so far: Scottie Scheffler, whose lead is insurmountable, and Bryson DeChambeau, who has been guaranteed a spot by captain Keegan Bradley. Top 6: Scheffler (32,420 points) Xander Schauffele (13,384) J.J. Spaun (12,479) Russell Henley (11,624) DeChambeau (10,775) Harris English (10,386) 7-12: Justin Thomas (10,208); Collin Morikawa (9,744); Ben Griffin (8,605); Bradley (8,039); Maverick McNealy (7,414); Brian Harman (7,008) What to watch: Bradley is playing some of the best golf of his life and must decide whether he wants to make himself the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963. 🇪🇺 Europe Rory McIlroy has already made the team. The other 11 spots are still up for grabs, but some believe captain Luke Donald will pick almost exactly the same roster that dominated the Americans two years ago in Rome. Top 6: McIlroy (3,441) Robert MacIntyre (1,345) Tommy Fleetwood (1,315) Tyrrell Hatton (1,279) Shane Lowry (1,234) Sepp Straka (1,227) 7-12: Rasmus Højgaard (1,135); Justin Rose (1,020); Ludvig Åberg (1,007); Viktor Hovland (930); Thomas Detry (780); Matt Wallace (753) 📊 By the numbers ⚾️ 220 games later The Rockies beat the Cardinals, 6-0, on Wednesday for their first shutout in 220 games, snapping the longest streak without one in MLB's modern era (since 1900). Their last shutout was an 8-0 victory over the Padres on May 15, 2024. Signs of improvement: The Rockies have gone from historically atrocious (9-50 start to the season) to regular bad (17-26 since), and currently sit at 26-76. They'll need to win at least 15 of their remaining 60 games to avoid breaking the modern MLB record for losses in a season (121). ⚽️ 120,000 viewers MLS commissioner Don Garber revealed that Apple TV+'s MLS Season Pass is averaging 120,000 unique viewers per match. The good news: That's a 50% increase over last year, per Garber. The bad news: That's not a very big number. ESPN reportedly averaged 343,000 viewers for MLS matches during the 2022 season, the last in which the league aired games outside of Apple. 🏈 $432.6 million The NFL's 32 franchises each reportedly received a record $432.6 million in revenue sharing payouts over the last fiscal year. That's up from roughly $400 million last season and means the total handed out was a whopping $13.8 billion. 📺 Watchlist: Thursday, July 24 🎾 DC Open | 11am ET, Tennis On Tuesday, Venus Williams stunned world No. 35 Peyton Stearns for her first tour-level singles victory since 2023. Today, the 45-year-old will face an even stiffer test against No. 24 Magdalena Fręch in the Round of 16 (7:30pm). Plus: Grand slam champions Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka square off in the first women's match of the day (1pm). More to watch: 🚴 Tour de France: Stage 18 (6am, Peacock) … 107 miles from Vif to Courchevel. 🏀 WNBA: Aces at Fever (7pm, Prime) … Indiana will debut a "Stranger Things" inspired uniform in celebration of the Netflix series' final season, coming out later this year. ⛳️ PGA: 3M Open (7:45am, ESPN+; 4pm, Golf) … The penultimate event of the regular season tees off at TPC Twin Cities. Today's full slate → ⚾️ MLB trivia 42 years ago today, Royals legend George Brett unleashed one of baseball's most memorable tirades after umpires overturned his ninth-inning home run and ruled him out for having too much pine tar on his bat, ending the game. Question: Who were the Royals playing when the "Pine Tar Incident" occurred? Answer at the bottom. 📸 Photo finish Washington's Jacob Young scaled the wall in Nationals Park on Wednesday to rob Cincinnati's Will Benson of a two-run blast. It was Young's third incredible home run robbery this season. Trivia answer: Yankees We hope you enjoyed this edition of Yahoo Sports AM, our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
MLS All-Stars crush Liga MX despite Lionel Messi absence
July 24 (UPI) -- Sam Surridge, Tai Baribo and Brian White each found the net to steer a dominant MLS victory over Liga MX in the 2025 MLS All-Star Game in Austin, Texas. Liga MX launched 21 shot attempts, but placed just seven on target in the 3-1 setback Wednesday at Q2 Stadium. The MLS All-Stars placed 7 of 13 attempts on target, including two second-half scores. "It was a special week," MLS All-Stars coach Nico Estevez told reporters. "I think I've been in the country enough to value what this event means. ... This is special. It's a unique event. "Not everyone can come enjoy this thing. I'm honored and fortunate to coach the MLS All-Stars." Philip Zinckernagel, Diego Rossi and Denis Bouanga logged assists for the MLS All-Stars, who played without Inter Miami's Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba. Elias Montiel assisted Gilberto Mora for Liga MX's lone score. "It was my first time in the All-Star Game," Baribo said on the Apple TV broadcast. "I scored and we won, MVP, it's the best feeling. Great night." The win helped the MLS All-Stars avenge a loss to Liga MX in the 2024 MLS All-Star Game. The MLS All-Stars won three of the four previous editions of their matchup with Liga MX. "What I told them is that we have quality when we have the ball if we can do combinations, being together, get the good relations and interactions that will help us to break the opponent," Estevez said. "When we had the ball, it was less instruction and more about being a unit and being compact." The Liga MX All-Stars threatened early on, but were often denied by Austin FC goalie Brad Stuver. Those heroics included a one-handed diving block in the 19th minute. But Liga MX goalie Luis Malagon also stood strong between the posts, keeping the game scoreless until the 28th minute. Bouanga started that sequence by leading a breakaway into the Liga MX box. He blasted a shot on net, but the attempt was denied by Malagon. Bouanga regained control on the left flank and fired a pass back toward the far post. Surridge -- who is tied with Messi with a league-leading 18 goals this season -- jumped into the area and headed a point-blank range shot past Malagon for first blood. Bouanga and Surridge each earned separate attempts about five minutes later. Bouanga drilled the right post with a volley, while star defender Sergio Ramos blocked Surridge's shot. The MLS All-Stars finally doubled their lead with Baribo beat goalie Kevin Mier in the 51st minute. Ross cut off several Liga MX defenders with a ball into the box for Baribo on that play. The Philadelphia Union striker let the ball roll onto his right foot and finished with a shot just inside the left post. Mora cut the deficit in half by beating Minnesota United goalie in the 65th minute, but White went on to add the clincher in the 80th. Carles Gil gained control in transition, weaved through defenders and found fellow midfielder Cristian Espinoza on the left flank to lead that attack. Espinoza proceed to tap a pass ahead for Zinckernagel, who spotted White about eight yards in front of the net. The All-Star striker finished with a one-touch shot off Liga MX All-Star Brian Rodriguez and into the net. The MLS regular-season slate will continue with six games Friday. Orlando City will host the Columbus Crew at 7:30 p.m. EDT in Columbus, Ohio. The New England Revolution will host CF Montreal at the same time in Foxborough, Mass. Messi and Alba, who were the leading vote getters for their positions, could be open to one-game suspensions for not playing in the MLS All-Star game. Their fifth-place Herons will host first-place FC Cincinnati at 7:15 p.m. Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
