Liverpool’s original ‘This Is Anfield' sign has sold for a staggering £115,000 at auction, smashing its £15,000 guide price.
The final bill reached £149,500 including commission and VAT, with the sale reportedly setting a new record for a UK sports stadium interior sign.
This Is Anfield sign sells for £115,000 at auction
The iconic sign, which once hung above the tunnel at Anfield, was sold by auctioneer Budds after bidding reached almost eight times its original guide price.
Bill Shankly selected the wording in 1972, rejecting the more welcoming ‘Welcome To Anfield' in favour of a message designed to remind Liverpool players who they represented and intimidate visiting teams.
The original sign was removed during the 1970s and passed to Ronald Wilson, a former member of Liverpool’s boys' team.
It was displayed at his family’s Rutland Hotel on the Isle of Man for more than 20 years before later being kept in his son’s office.
The sign has considerable history, with players including Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen and Frank McGarvey pictured with it after joining Liverpool between 1977 and 1979.
It also remained at Anfield during the club’s first two European Cup triumphs in 1977 and 1978.
Budds described the “record” auction as “beyond the exceptional”, with the winning bidder’s identity remaining unknown.
FGG says: Anfield's old sign proves just how valuable football history can be
£115,000 is an extraordinary amount for a piece of stadium furniture, but this was never just any old sign.
It is a genuine piece of Liverpool history, connected to Shankly, European Cup triumphs and generations of players who passed beneath it.
There is something slightly sad about such an important part of Anfield history now being in private hands, though the price shows just how much value supporters and collectors place on these pieces of football heritage.
Liverpool fans might struggle to believe anyone has paid £115,000 for it, but when you consider the stories attached to those five words, perhaps the final figure is not quite as crazy as it first appears.