A basketball card jointly signed by Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant has sold for £9.56m ($12.9m), setting a record as the most expensive sports collectable card ever.

The 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs card was auctioned by Heritage Auctions in the US.

The item had been held privately for more than a decade and went into the sale with an estimate of at least £4.4m ($6m). After 82 bids, the final price more than doubled expectations.

The sale surpasses the $12.6m (£10.8m at the time) paid in 2022 for a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card. Only Babe Ruth’s 1932 “called shot” World Series jersey, which fetched £18.1m ($24.1m) last year, has sold for more among sports memorabilia.

Chris Ivy, Heritage’s director of sports auctions, described the Jordan-Bryant card as “the pinnacle” for modern collectors. “Another one can’t be created. It has always been looked at as the holy grail,” he told ESPN.

Jordan, a six-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls, is widely regarded as the greatest player in the game’s history. Bryant, who won five titles with the LA Lakers and died in a helicopter crash in 2020, is remembered as one of basketball’s defining figures.