Online platform Catawiki auctioned off the item, which has been signed twice by Pele, for £10,450 -- a much higher value than first expected, making it the most expensive Panini album in the world.

The album is a 1970 World Cup edition -- where Pele was one of the star players, scoring four goals as Brazil won the competition in Mexico -- and contains all 271 of the original stickers.

Collectors from all over Europe bid on the item, Catawiki says, with the album offered by a Dutch collector and the new owner coming from Italy.

"The value of old Panini albums increases every two years during the European Cup [European Championship] and World Cup," Panini expert Wouter Waaijers is quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror. "This is not only the case for old albums but also for European and World Cups from more recent years.

"In America, sport trading cards have been generating money for some time now, but the trend is now also visible in Europe. Therefore, it makes sense to look after complete Panini albums well as the chance is high that you can sell them for a lot of money a couple of years later."