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Louise Thomas
Editor
Cole Palmer’s Chelsea shirt, worn when he scored a record four goals against Brighton at Stamford Bridge, has been sold at auction for £34,000.
Palmer became the first player in Premier League history to score four times in the first half of a match as he inspired Chelsea to a 4-2 win.
The shirt was put up for auction via MatchWornShirt and the proceeds went to the Chelsea FC Foundation. The successful bidder was based in Singapore.
Tijmen Zonderwijk, co-founder of MatchWornShirt, said: “When we watched Palmer break that four-goal record against Brighton, we knew there would be global interest from fans and collectors wanting to own his shirt and that piece of football history. We saw a huge volume of people engaging in the online auction, with bids flooding in from all over the world. It was exciting to witness.”
The 22-year-old Palmer has been involved in 11 goals in seven league games this season. After the Brighton game, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who worked with Palmer as he developed at Manchester City, lauded his star player.
“What he was as a boy is exactly what he was three or four years ago,” Maresca said. “Goals, assists – [he is the] best player of the Premier League. This doesn’t change the way he is. He’s a humble guy and for me it’s the most important thing.
“He’s a top player and today in football young players can change quick. Cole scores goals and never changes and this is the most important thing. He’s special player, he’s a simple and humble guy. He doesn’t need to tell people how good he is because you can see it clearly.”
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler said that Palmer simply punished their individual errors in west London.
“So far yes,” Hurzeler said when asked if Palmer is the best player his Brighton side have faced this season. “He scored four goals and punished every mistake. He punished the first and second with the penalty, you can’t stop him in one-against-one situations and we have to defend him as a team.
“Sometimes we lost our structure and it’s difficult to defend players like this.”
While Palmer’s shirt fetched a healthy sum, it was still some way short of the most expensive football jersey ever sold.
Diego Maradona’s Argentina shirt, worn in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England – when he scored both the ‘goal of the century’ and with the ‘hand of God’ – sold for £7m at auction. Maradona had given the shirt to England’s Steve Hodge after match, who ignored pleas from the Argentine Football Association and Maradona’s family to donate the shirt to a museum in Buenos Aires.
