Thursday evening's auction to benefiting Unicef raised over 3 million euros, with Damien Hirst's painting of Leo Messi going for €494,000
Video of the auction
The video shows the details of the festive, yet relaxed, auction, beginning with former FC Barcelona player José Edmilson juggling act including the project's characteristic eleven touches, using the ball designed by Murakami and signed by Messi.
The '1 in 11' campaign led by FC Barcelona to raise funds for UNICEF culminated on Thursday evening with the celebration of an auction at Sotheby's including 17 works of art, two Barça experiences of the project team and the official ball of the project signed by Leo Messi. The auction raised more than three million euros to be allocated to educational projects.
Sotheby's London headquarters was packed to the rafters for Thursday's session, which was attended by representatives of FC Barcelona including Foundation vice-presidents, Ramon Pont and Ramon Cierco, director Silvio Elías and former Barcelona player José Edmilson, representing the sporting aspect of the evening.
The Barça-themed works of art played had a major role in the auction. Three of the artists who participated were inspired by the club in the realisation of their creations.
A beautiful painting of Leo Messi by Damien Hirst, perhaps the most well-paid living artist in the world, was acquired for €494,829 after the starting price was set at €350,000.
A Takashi Murakami creation of Messi went for €429,756. The project ball, designed by Murakami and signed by the Argentinian star, raised €61,000.
Finally, a painting of Gerard Piqué by Francesco Vezzoli was sold for €44,000.