Piece of Anfield soul sold! Original This Is Anfield sign goes for £115,000
The most iconic three words in English football just changed hands: the original This Is Anfield sign has been sold for a staggering £115,000.
Details: The sign went under the hammer at auctioneer Budds' two-day sale in Wellingborough on September 8 and 9, obliterating its £10,000-15,000 guide price. Hung in the Anfield tunnel by Bill Shankly in March 1972, it was removed in the late 1970s and spent more than 20 years displayed in a hotel on the Isle of Man.
The story behind the sign is pure Shankly. The legendary manager rejected the original Welcome To Anfield wording as too friendly, demanding something that would remind his players who they represented and intimidate opponents walking out beside them. It watched over the club's first two European Cup triumphs in 1977 and 1978 before being taken down and gifted to Ronald Wilson, a former member of Liverpool's boys' team, by future manager Roy Evans. The final price, nearly ten times the estimate, shows what Shankly's psychological warfare is worth half a century later, and the sale lands on the very day Liverpool open their Champions League campaign against Atletico Madrid at Anfield tonight.
It's worth noting that the sign's sale price dwarfs some match-worn memorabilia, a reminder that in football collecting, mythology beats fabric every time.
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Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
