A Chelsea shirt worn by Cole Palmer during his historic four-goal match against Brighton at Stamford Bridge has been auctioned off for £34,000. This auction marks the first time a player has scored four goals in the first half of a Premier League match, helping secure Chelsea’s 4-2 victory.
The signed Premier League shirt was auctioned by MatchWornShirt, with all proceeds going to the Chelsea FC Foundation. The winning bid came from a collector based in Singapore. Tijmen Zonderwijk, the co-founder of MatchWornShirt, expressed excitement over the global interest in owning this piece of football history, with bids pouring in from fans and collectors worldwide.
At just 22 years old, Palmer has been directly involved in 11 goals over seven league games this season. Following his exceptional performance against Brighton, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who previously coached Palmer at Manchester City, praised the young player for his consistency and talent.
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler acknowledged Palmer’s exceptional skill in capitalizing on their team’s defensive lapses during the match. Despite the hefty sum fetched by Palmer’s auctioned shirt, it falls short of the record for the most expensive football jersey ever sold, held by Diego Maradona’s Argentina shirt from the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, which sold for £7 million.
Maradona’s iconic shirt, worn during the famous match against England where he scored the ‘goal of the century’ and the ‘hand of God’ goal, remains one of the most significant football memorabilia pieces in history.