Beckham‘s slice of fortune tops charity auction

TOKYO – German keeper Oliver Kahn may have won the Golden Ball award but he couldn‘t match David Beckham for the platinum ball. A small slice of a platinum soccer ball signed by the England captain fetched more than three million yen ($25,460) at a Japanese charity auction — some 700,000 yen more than a similar piece autographed by Kahn, organisers said.

France‘s Zinedine Zidane drew the third-highest price for his chunk of the 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) ball, which was carved into 32 pieces and signed by some of the World Cup‘s biggest names. „It‘s kind of what I expected,“ said Seiji Shimada, spokesman for auction sponsor Adidas Japan. „Beckham‘s an incredibly popular player, especially with Japanese women.“ Beckham put his signature on three pieces of the gleaming white orb modelled after the tournament‘s official „Fevernova“ ball.

They sold for a combined 7.6 million yen after 10 days of anonymous bidding over the Internet.

Two pieces signed in indelible ink by Kahn, the first goalkeeper to win FIFA‘s coveted Golden Ball award for the best player of the World Cup, sold for 2.3 million yen and 1.5 million yen respectively.

Zidane‘s single chunk fetched just 1.5 million yen, perhaps reflecting the defending champions‘ dismal showing in the June tournament co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.

The 32 pieces — signed by players and celebrities including Italy‘s Alessandro Del Piero, Argentina‘s Diego Placente and Japan manager Philippe Troussier — drew a combined 22.8 million yen in bids.

The money will go towards buying soccer balls for children in developing countries, Adidas said.

Platinum traders estimated the market value of the ball at about five million yen or $42,000.

That means Beckham‘s most expensive slice fetched a premium of about $24,000 — a handsome sum, but well short of the $155,000 the superstar is said to earn each week under a new deal with his club Manchester United.

(Reuters)