The original “This is Anfield” sign has sold at auction for almost £150,000, 10 times more than its guide price.
The sign that hung above the players’ tunnel at Liverpool’s home stadium during the 1970s had been expected to fetch between £10,000 and £15,000 after being put up for auction on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But the “talismanic” piece of football memorabilia ended up being sold by auctioneer Budds for £149,500 to a UK private buyer.
A version of the sign has been in place at Anfield for more than half a century, and it has become a ritual for Liverpool players to touch it as they enter the field.
According to Budds, legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly chose the words for the sign in 1972 after rejecting “Welcome to Anfield” as being too friendly.
The auctioneer said a groundsman had proposed installing such a sign before Shankly suggested the amendment to “This is Anfield”.
Shankly said the message was a reminder to Liverpool players who they were representing and a source of intimidation for visiting teams.
The original sign remained in place until the end of a decade in which Liverpool became the dominant force in club football, winning numerous major trophies including back-to-back European Cups.
Budds said Roy Evans, who played for and managed the club, gave it to Ronald Wilson, a former member of the boys’ team.
Wilson’s family displayed it in their Rutland Hotel on the Isle of Man for more than 20 years before it was passed to his children in 2000. The sign was later displayed in his son Ian’s office until the latter’s retirement earlier this year.
David Convery, of Budds Auctions, said: “We pride ourselves in bringing to auction historical and emotive football items. The sign with its exceptional photo-matched provenance and detailed family history had Liverpool fans worldwide bidding for what is a talismanic sign.”