The jersey worn by Northern Ireland's George Best during one of his best ever performances for Manchester United was sold for £24,000 (€35,500) at Christie's in London yesterday.
Best wore the No 11 shirt when he scored a then-competition record six goals in Manchester United's 8-2 win over Northampton Town in an FA Cup fifth round match on February 7th, 1970.
The jersey was sold to Steve Gilbert, a British-based collector, after a competitive bidding battle in the auction room. The seller had won the jersey in a national newspaper competition in 1996.
Matthew Paton, a spokesman for Christie's, said the sum paid was substantial for a club jersey but they were not surprised given the interest in Best and that performance against Northampton in particular.
The former European Footballer of the Year's display, in which he mesmerised the Northampton defence with a range of skills, flicks and dribbles, is fondly remembered to this day.
Ron Fairfax, the Northampton player who had the unenviable task of marking Best on the day, remarked after the game that "the closest I got to him was when we shook hands after the game".
Best, seen as one of the greatest players ever to grace English and European soccer, died last November after suffering multiple organ failure. The Northern Ireland international won the European Cup with Manchester United in 1968 and was named European Footballer of the Year in the same year. In all, he made 466 appearances for United, scoring 178 goals.
The highest price ever paid for a football shirt at auction was £157,750 (€233,000) for Pele's 1970 World Cup final jersey.
Also at yesterday's auction, the 1970 FA Cup winner's medal of former Chelsea captain Ron "Chopper" Harris was sold for £13,200 (€19,500) to Chelsea Football Club. The nine-carat gold medal will become an exhibit at the club's museum.
The shirt 1966 World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore wore in his last ever English league match was sold for £3,600 (€5,300). The match between Fulham and Blackburn Rovers on May 14th, 1977, was Moore's 1,000th senior game and his 804th league appearance.