ENGLAND legend Bobby Moore’s World Cup winner’s shirt has gone missing, his stunned ex-wife revealed last night.
Bobby sported the iconic red shirt when he hoisted the Jules Rimet trophy at Wembley in 1966 and first wife Tina believed it was safely mothballed in her attic.
But the jersey worth millions has now been offered for auction by a private buyer who refuses to be identified.
Its mysterious appearance has baffled the late soccer great’s loved ones and forced them to issue an urgent appeal for its return.
Wife of 24 years Tina told The Daily Mail: “I would really love to get that shirt back where it belongs – with me, with my family, and with the nation, for everyone to have a chance to look at it and marvel at Bobby’s achievement.”
Tina last saw the shirt decades ago in the 1970s and 1980s when it was kept folded in a leather bag in the attic of the house Tina and Bobby shared in Chigwell, Essex.
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Their daughter Roberta remembers seeing it when they went up into the attic to fetch Christmas decorations.
When Moore was dying of cancer in 1992, his daughter brought his cherished trophies, medals and caps to his home so he could hold them for a final time.
But by then the famous red shirt was missing – along with an equally cherished yellow Brazil shirt he swapped with Pele at the 1970 World Cup.
Tina spent years that followed attempting to track down the shirts without success – until they received a call from the FA two years ago confirming the 1966 shirt had been unearthed.
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The FA caller stunned the family by declaring it was in the hands of a private buyer.
There is no suggestion of impropriety by the current holder – but the family want answers as to how the shirt came into his possession.
Tina’s daughter Roberta, 58, said: “It was a huge shock and at first, totally baffling.
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“The shirt belongs to my mother and she had been looking for it for years. Now out of the blue, they were telling us about some private buyer, and it had been ‘found’?”
Roberta added: “It was all very strange. The information was vague. The shirt had been ‘found at a general auction of an unknown deceased person’.
“It was hard to comprehend – how does the shirt go from being tucked in a bag in my mother’s attic to an auction of a deceased person?”
Bobby’s family have suffered further frustration because the holder of the shirt is insisting on remaining anonymous and is said to have been “spooked” by their inquiries.
The West Ham and England soccer great divorced Tina in 1986 and remarried Stephanie Parlane in 1991 shortly before his death from cancer in 1993.
Tina, 79, is adamant that the shirt belongs to her after being left to her with football memorabilia to her when they split.
She said: “If there is somebody out there who has the shirt, I appeal for them to come to us, and explain how they came about it.
“I’m sure it’s been done in very good faith, but I don’t think the people or this person are aware of what’s happened.
“I would just love to be able to talk to them and find out. But more than anything, I just want to get back the shirt which Bobby gave to me and entrusted to me. I owe it to him and the family.”
An FA spokesman said: “Bobby Moore is an England hero. It would be wonderful if there was a way of finding his historic World Cup winning shirt and putting it on display for the nation.”
It comes after the shirt worn by Diego Maradona during his iconic ‘Hand of God’ goal sold for a staggering £7million at auction last year.
The legendary No10 shirt was bought by an anonymous fan after a month-long bidding battle.
Likewise, one footie fanatic revealed that he has spent thousands on an epic collection of over 500 classic kits.
Sadly, not all kits make their way to collections or the attics of ex players.
For example, a rare Celtic shirt was stolen from the National Football Museum in February 2020,
Thankfully, though, the jersey once warn by Charlie Nicholas was returned anonymously by post just a month later.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
