A FOOTBALL shirt worn by England legend Bobby Moore has failed to sell at at an auction in Rayleigh.

The shirt, valued at £40,000, was worn by the then England captain at the Mexico World Cup in 1970 against Romania.

It was England’s first game of the tournament as they began their defence of the trophy, which they famously won at Wembley in 1966.

It had been put up for sale by its current owner via Basildon-based business Football Wanted with a reserve price of £30,000 at Stacey’s Auctioneers, but although it was expected to go for up to £10,000 more, bidding stalled at £24,000.

David Alexander, 45, who runs the Football Wanted website and has an office at the Battlesbridge Antiques Centre, said due to the present economic climate he gave the shirt a 50-50 chance of selling, but said it was still disappointing.

He said: “The customer paid a lot more for it than £24,000 and needed more money, so, unfortunately, it’s become one of the few that’s gone unsold.

Echo:

The legendary shirt worn by Bobby Moore at Mexico 1970

“He had owned it for a few years and thought he might generate some money on the back of his investment, but it seems it wasn’t meant to be.

“It won’t be going back up for sale.”