Mourinho's medal shoots past its estimate

£16.8k was the final price netted by the manager's Chelsea Premier League winner's medal

"I think the person in the crowd who got the medal is a lucky guy who goes home with a fantastic memory. Or goes to eBay and makes a fortune."

So said the Portuguese football manager José Mourinho after throwing not one but two winner's medals into the excited crowds at Stamford Bridge, following Chelsea's 3-0 victory over Manchester United in the 2005-6 Premier League Final.

Mourinho's medal, sold for £16,800

Mourinho was nearly right: it was actually Bonhams which sold both medals.

After the first realised £21,600 at a previous auction, on behalf of a Chelsea fan, the second medal went under the hammer at Bonhams' Sporting and Golf Memorabilia sale in Chester, UK, yesterday (February 24).

Sold with newspaper reports explaining the remarkable circumstances in which the vendor obtained this historic piece of football memorabilia, and with a Barclays Premiership ribbon attached, the unique nine carat medal released £16,800.

The medal's final price was comfortably past its pre-sale estimate of £12,000-15,000.

Watch this space for more news on Bonhams' Sporting and Golf Memorabilia sale.