Before every home match at Anfield, Liverpool players reach up to slap a red-and-white board above the tunnel steps. Next Tuesday, a piece of that ritual goes up for sale.

An original “This Is Anfield” board is Lot 506 at UK sports memorabilia specialist Budds’ two-day live auction on 8-9 September, catalogued as “the original and iconic ‘THIS IS ANFIELD’ stadium tunnel sign” and carrying an estimate of £10,000 to £15,000. Bidding opens at 11am local time each day at the auctioneer’s Wellingborough saleroom.

The Liverpool sign is one of more than 700 lots across the two days, with the whole sale projected to top £500,000. Head of department David Convery told City AM the catalogue is exceptional even by Budds’ standards.

“We pride ourselves in bringing the best sporting memorabilia to market for collectors who love every aspect of the games they follow, but this particular sale is without doubt an Olympics-league memorabilia sale.”

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Other lots include the wooden Dunlop Maxfly Fort racket that John McEnroe smashed in one of his on-court outbursts (£2,000-£3,000), Paul Gascoigne’s numbered England legacy cap, a 1928 Olympic medal, a Rafael Nadal tennis racket, Dave Beasant’s shirt from Wimbledon’s 1988 FA Cup final win, and the Wrexham jersey Micky Thomas wore when his fourth-tier side knocked out league champions Arsenal in the 1992 FA Cup.

Shankly’s idea, still touched today

The two-word slogan traces back to Bill Shankly. A groundsman had suggested “Welcome to Anfield”, a friendlier greeting; Shankly wanted something sharper, telling him it should remind “our lads who they’re playing for and to remind the opposition who they’re playing against”.

A version of the sign hung above the tunnel through the club’s most decorated era, from 1974 until 1998, before being taken down and put into storage.

In July 2012, Brendan Rodgers ordered it back to its old place as one of his first acts as Liverpool manager.

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“For me, there are three elements really… a real sense of the past, a sense of the present and a sense of the future,” Rodgers said at the time.

Museum curator Stephen Done went further.

“This sign has seen the greatest glory years of our club. It has been the talisman for some of our greatest players.”

Klopp turned it into a merit badge

Jurgen Klopp made touching the sign a privilege. When he took charge in 2015 he told his players they were not allowed to reach up for it until they had actually won something in a Liverpool shirt, calling it a sign of respect. The ban held for years and was lifted only after the club’s Champions League triumph, when tapping the board became the pre-match custom it is today.

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The etiquette still matters. Wout Weghorst, visiting with Manchester United, reached up and touched it before United were beaten 7-0 at Anfield.

Bids on lot 506 close when the hammer falls on Wednesday 9 September.

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