Promoting a winner’s medal is rarely a part of a footballer’s plan. It’s the one merchandise most anticipate to maintain, lengthy after the boots are gone and the crowds have thinned.
This week, Steve Finnan confirmed how shortly that certainty can disappear. The previous Liverpool defender, embroiled in a long-standing dispute along with his brother and dealing with mounting authorized prices, offered the Champions League medal he gained in Istanbul.
It was a jarring reminder that medals, nonetheless valuable, can change into monetary lifelines when careers finish and issues mount.
And Finnan is much from alone. A few of the greatest names in soccer have made the identical choice, from England’s World Cup winners to legendary figures like Pele.
Their causes range, however the end result is similar. Medals earned on the most important phases have ended up in public sale rooms relatively than household houses.
Finnan’s story brings the problem again into focus, and the checklist of gamers who reached that time stretches far deeper into soccer historical past than most supporters realise.
Steve Finnan loved a robust profession at Anfield, successful the Champions League and FA Cup
The Irishman offered his Champions League winners medal in 2020 amid an extended authorized battle along with his brother
Gordon Banks was one of the vital celebrated goalkeepers the game has produced, but even he felt compelled to half with the medal that marked England’s best triumph.
Banks performed each match within the 1966 World Cup and later produced the well-known save towards Brazil in 1970.
Regardless of these achievements, he by no means earned greater than £100 every week and retired with out something just like the monetary safety trendy professionals get pleasure from.
His post-football enterprise ventures faltered and the necessity to assist his kids ultimately compelled him into a choice he had by no means envisaged. In 2001, he positioned his World Cup winners’ medal up for public sale at Christie’s, the place it offered for £124,750.
Banks later stated he offered the medal so his kids might purchase their first houses. He additionally parted with the cap awarded for the 1966 last, elevating £27,025.
A number of of Banks’s 1966 teammates would observe the identical path as circumstances tightened round them.
George Cohen, one other member of the 1966 staff, discovered himself navigating tough choices of his personal. The Fulham proper again was one of many fittest gamers in Alf Ramsey’s squad and a significant a part of the aspect that lifted the trophy at Wembley.
However his later years had been marked by private tragedy, repeated battles with sickness and heavy monetary pressure after a failed property deal. Though Cohen survived most cancers and lived with long-term issues from remedy, he was not insulated from monetary stress.
Gordon Banks performed each match within the 1966 World Cup and later produced the well-known save towards Brazil in 1970
Sir Geoff Hurst, the hat-trick hero of the 1966 last, accepted a considerable provide from West Ham, reported to be round £150,000, to promote his medal
Bobby Moore by no means offered his medal, however his complete assortment was auctioned seven years after his dying
In 1998, he offered his World Cup medal to assist fund his retirement, and Fulham purchased it for £80,000.
Sir Geoff Hurst, the hat-trick hero of the 1966 last, made the identical alternative. Hurst accepted a considerable provide from West Ham, reportedly round £150,000, to promote his medal so the membership might show it alongside the collections of Bobby Moore and Martin Peters in a brand new museum.
Hurst later provided a easy clarification for the choice, saying his kids wanted assist.
‘I do not remorse it for a single immediate,’ he advised Every day Mail Sport in 2015. ‘I’ve saved little or no and that was a acutely aware choice. It was vital to assist my youngsters.’
‘You possibly can’t cut up a World Cup medal between three folks. The youngsters wanted a little bit of assist they usually wanted it then,’ he added.
Bobby Moore by no means offered his medal, however his complete assortment was auctioned seven years after his dying, with West Ham buying all 79 objects, together with the 1966 winners’ medal, for public show.
The gathering turned the centrepiece of the membership’s museum and ensured Moore’s legacy remained accessible to future generations.
Pele stands aside as one of many best athletes within the historical past of sport, but even he ultimately parted with the medals that outlined his profession. In 2016, the Brazilian icon auctioned his complete assortment of greater than 2,000 objects, together with all three of his World Cup winners’ medals.
In 2016, Pele auctioned his complete assortment of greater than 2,000 objects, together with all three of his World Cup winners’ medals.
His 1958 medal offered for £200,000, whereas his 1962 medal fetched £140,800.
Pele defined his choice, saying he needed followers and museums world wide to share in his historical past.
‘I hope they treasure these artefacts and share my story with their kids and generations to come back,’ he stated in an announcement launched via the public sale home.’
The sale included a duplicate of the Jules Rimet trophy created after Brazil’s 1970 triumph, valued at as much as £420,000, in addition to the ball used to attain his 1,000th profession purpose.
The size of the public sale made it one of many greatest memorabilia gross sales in sporting historical past.
Alan Ball, one other key determine in England’s 1966 triumph, offered his World Cup medal and cap in 2005. The objects had been later auctioned once more in 2022, along with his medal fetching £200,000 and his cap reaching £115,000.
Ball’s choice to promote got here late in retirement, when he assessed what his household wanted most. The costs achieved mirrored each the historic significance of the objects and the enduring affection for the 1966 staff.
Elsewhere, Trevor Francis, the primary £1million footballer, accrued a outstanding set of medals throughout a profession that included two European Cups with Nottingham Forest.
Trevor Francis’ objects included his winners’ medal from the 1979 European Cup last
After he died in 2023, his assortment offered for £135,000.
Francis, who reportedly left his sons out of his will because of household variations, had objects which included his winners’ medal from the 1979 European Cup last, valued at 20,000, his 1980 medal from Forest’s second triumph, his Coppa Italia medal from his time with Sampdoria and even a shirt swapped with Diego Maradona.
Likewise, Gordon McQueen, a towering presence for Leeds, Manchester United and Scotland, additionally noticed his medals auctioned by his household after his dying in 2023.
McQueen had battled dementia, considered linked to repeated heading of heavy footballs, and his household made clear that his recollections had been much more vital to them than the objects he collected.
His 1983 FA Cup winners’ medal and a sequence of runners-up medals from main European finals had been valued at £60,000 collectively.
His daughter, Sky Sports activities presenter Hayley, stated the household needed supporters and collectors to benefit from the objects as a result of her father had by no means been a hoarder and believed recollections mattered greater than possessions.
And the checklist stretches far past the names above. Legends resembling George Finest, Terry McDermott, Tommy Smith and even trendy period gamers like Gary Shaw have additionally parted with career-defining medals.
It’s a reminder that the variety of stars compelled into this place is intensive, far too lengthy for any single piece to seize.
Gordon McQueen additionally noticed his medals auctioned by his household after his dying in 2023. Pictured alongside daughter, Sky sports activities presenter Hayley McQueen
Throughout all of those tales, one theme stands out. Former gamers earned a fraction of right now’s salaries, and plenty of retired with out the security nets trendy footballers take as a right.
With out teaching or punditry roles to fall again on, the outlook after soccer was usually bleak, a stark reminder of how shortly safety can disappear as soon as the cheering stops.
