Bankrupt Kerala Blasters keeper David James' memorabilia sold off
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London: Goalkeeper and manager of Kerala Blasters FC David James' football memorabilia has been auctioned off for thousands of pounds after the former England goalkeeper went bankrupt.
James, 44, who played for Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham, Manchester City and Portsmouth, and now plying his trade in the Indian Super League (ISL), was declared bankrupt in May despite earning around 20 million pounds.
Signed shirts, shorts and balls were amongst the items sold by auctioneer Hilco at a sale registered in Kent Tuesday.
An England shirt the player wore in the Three Lions' 1-0 World Cup win over Argentina in 2002 fetched 672 pounds.
A Liverpool FC goalkeeper's jersey worn during the teams' 1995/96 season sold for more than 160 pounds while a Portsmouth No. 1 jersey James wore in 2008 went for 480 pounds.
Hilco's Spencer Chapman said there had been "interest from around the world with more than 1,000 registrants across the 10-day sales period".
"We've not really dealt with a sale on behalf of a sporting celebrity like this before and clearly that had added some value to the lots," he was quoted as saying by BBC Wednesday.
"Sports memorabilia is a very popular market and signed shirts are the kind of items you can't really put a price on, but there were also some very quirky lots in there too. There were more than 1,800 vinyl records, DJ decks and a customised Vauxhall Astra van, which attracted a lot of interest and sold for a very reasonable price."