Celtic icon's collection of European Cup shirts up for grabs

Jerseys that footballer Bertie Auld collected throughout his career will be on sale at a McTear's auction on October 12.

The collection, which is being sold by the family of the Celtic great, includes tops the midfielder swapped with some of Europe's top players during the club's momentous runs to, and including the European Cup Finals in 1967 and 1970.

Among the items for sale is the jersey of Inter Milan's captain, Armando Picchim, which could sell for between £20,000 and £30,000, a shirt from Dutch footballer Rinus Israel of Feyenoord and a jersey from Leeds legend Billy Bremner.

The collection also includes a match-worn Kenny Dalglish Scotland top, one of Auld's Hibs shirts and a pair of his match-worn Celtic shorts.

In total, the 17 shirts and other Celtic and Scotland memorabilia are estimated to fetch around £100,000.

Auld's son, Robert Auld, said: “Dad was quite humble about his achievements and didn’t talk too much about the games, but then again, he didn’t need to.

“The shirts speak for themselves and show how Celtic went from underdogs on the international stage to one of the most dominant forces in Europe during the late 1960s and early 70s.

“Dad was a phenomenon and a tremendously hard worker on and off the field. He always said he never had any regrets in life, although he did admit that he could have scored four against Inter in the 1967 final.”

Since his dad’s passing in 2021, Robert has followed in his charitable footsteps, launching the Bertie Auld Legacy in 2022.

He added: “Dad would do anything for anyone and worked tirelessly for a number of charities throughout his life.

“My only regret is that we didn’t launch the Bertie Auld Legacy earlier when he could have played an active part.

“Dad suffered from dementia and in the last few years of his life I spent a lot of time with him, which I loved. We would spend time in the garden, building fences and what not, with Dad singing along to his favourite Frank Sinatra song.

“As we look to expand the charity’s activities, we are looking to support a number of other good causes, including research into dementia. To help with this, we will be donating a portion of the proceeds from the auction to the Bertie Auld Legacy.”

McTear’s specialist James Bruce said: “There is no doubt Bertie Auld thoroughly deserves his place in the Scottish Football Hall of Fame, with the Celtic midfielder playing a pivotal role in multiple European games in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Lisbon Lions triumph in 1967.

“The collection paints a detailed picture of Auld’s incredible career, including the runs to both the 1967 and 1970 European Cup Finals.

“It is a rare thing to see just one shirt from this illustrious period in Celtic’s history come to auction, but to see more than a dozen from some of the game’s most famous players is simply breathtaking.

“We are already seeing huge interest in the auction, and we expect this to continue to ramp up as we move closer to the October 12 sale.”