A Celtic jersey worn by one of the club's all-time greats has smashed expectations by selling for 30 times its value at auction.
The late Lisbon Lion Tommy Gemmell's match-worn home top from 1970 went under the hammer this week at Graham Budd Auctions' latest sports memorabilia auction.
Auctioneers estimated the shirt would fetch between £400-£600 at the event on June 6 and 7. Eyebrows were raised, however, as the green and white jersey attracted a closing bid of £12,000 - a figure 30 times that of its lower valuation.
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The shirt notched the figure despite not being in the best of condition, with the listing making note of a two-inch tear on the left should, holes on the front of the shirt and around the collar, and some slight staining.
While the listing does not state which of Celtic's matches during the 1970 season the vintage Umbro shirt was worn, there's no doubt the price will have been pushed up considerably by the Hoops connection and the footballer who once filled it.
Hoops legend Tommy Gemmell was the scorer of Celtic's equaliser in their 2-1 victory over Inter Milan in the 1967 European Cup Final and also netted in the final of the 1970 tournament, which Jock Stein's side lost against Feyenoord.
David Convery, head of sporting memorabilia at Graham Budd Auctions, said: "The sale of this iconic green and white Celtic shirt, worn by club legend and Lisbon Lion, Tommy Gemmell, just confirms how competitive the match-worn, vintage shirt market is currently, especially for clubs with cult status."
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Renowned for his powerful shooting ability, Motherwell-born Gemmell, who died in 2017, wore the green and white hoops on 247 occasions, scoring 37 times. Aside from his Lisbon triumph, the Parkhead great lifted the Scottish league title six times and also won three Scottish Cups and four Scottish League Cups with Celtic.
Lisbon Lions sporting memorabilia has form for attracting monster bids at auction. In 2022, Bertie Auld's 1967 European Cup jersey fetched £20,000, while a private collector paid £18,000 for Tommy Gemmell's goal-scoring boots from the same match in 2019.
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