A match jersey worn by football legend George Best has fetched more than seven times its estimated value at an auction in England.
The number 11 shirt from Benfica player Antonio Simoes which was then donned by the Belfast-born footballer at the end of the match in 1968 sold for £22,000 during the first day of Graham Budd Auctions’ two-day Sporting Legends Memorabilia Auction. It was originally estimated at £3,000.
Best was famously pictured wearing the shirt inside out at the end of the European Cup final match against Benfica at Wembley Stadium — in which he scored a goal and helped Manchester United to become the first English team to win the European Cup.
The number 11 shirt from Benfica player Antonio Simoes worn by George Best
Goals from Bobby Charlton (two) and Brian Kidd helped clinch the 4-1 win during the match, in which the Portuguese played in white and red. A coin was tossed and the Red Devils were designated the ‘away’ team and played in all blue.
Earlier this year, the shirt was selected as an auction item by Graham Budd Auctions but was only estimated to reach around £3,000.
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Alongside the shirt, the auction also featured a collection from Manchester United’s Mike Duxbury, including two FA Cup medals from 1983 and 1985 valued at £12,000 to £18,000 each, match-worn shirts and tracksuit tops.
A telegram from Eurovision star Lulu begging George Best to go easy on her native Scotland in an upcoming international is also a part of the collection going under the hammer, alongside other items belonging to footballing figures like Pele, Thierry Henry and Dave Bassett.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Graham Budd Auctions’ David Convery said the process was “competitive”.
“It’s such an iconic image from the end of the game after George exchanged it, he’s obviously wearing it inside out, but it has him and the European Cup for the first time,” Mr Convery said.
“Although we did give it a modest value, the interest was immediate, it ticked all the boxes for prominence and history.
“It actually makes me wonder what other things worn by George are worth. I wonder what other people have got tucked away that could be worth tens of thousands.”
The number 11 shirt from Benfica player Antonio Simoes worn by George Best
While he cannot comment specifically on the winning buyer of the jersey, Mr Convery assured football and Best fans that it was going to a good home.
“It’s a private collector, unfortunately it’s a shame that we cannot tell people more about the buyers, but the private collector has an astonishing collection of match-worn shirts, so it’s going to a wonderful home and it’ll have some great friends to be displayed alongside.
“It’s gone to a fantastic home, let’s put it that way.”
The jersey’s success at auction comes after a shirt worn by Sir Bobby Charlton on the day his two goals put England in the final of the 1966 World Cup and left Eusebio in tears went up for auction last year.
Charlton’s white number 9 shirt from the match sold for just under £60,000.