Steven Gerrard's final Liverpool boots raise £40,200 for charity
A pair of signed football boots designed to mark the end of Steven Gerrard's long Liverpool career have raised 40,200 for a refugee charity.
The boots, made by Adidas and autographed by the former England captain, were auctioned off on eBay by independent fans' podcast The Anfield Wrap.
A total of 185 bids were made for the boots, sold off to raise money for the British Red Cross European Refugee Crisis Appeal.
The identity of the winning bidder is not yet known, although in addition to the five-figure sum for the boots, they will also have to pay 10 postage to receive them through the mail.
Only 17 pairs of the Adidas Predator boots were made, one for each year of Gerrard's first-team career at Anfield.
See one of the rarest football boots on earth #Gerrard @LFC https://t.co/eXk9VzbJ70 pic.twitter.com/BW6fvVjur2
- eBay.co.uk (@eBay_UK) November 9, 2015
The boots are red and white, with the initials YNWA -- which stands for club anthem You'll Never Walk Alone -- on the heel. They also feature the number eight, which was the midfielder's squad number for most of his time at Anfield, and the names of his three children, Lourdes, Lilly and Lexie.
Inside both boots is a message that reads: "You leave a legend, you'll return a hero. The city of Liverpool is always with you. You'll never walk alone."
Gerrard, who was presented with the boots before his final home match as a Liverpool player, against Crystal Palace in May, donated them to The Anfield Wrap earlier this month.
He left at the end of last season to join Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy on an 18-month contract.
The 35-year-old scored two goals in 14 appearances during his debut campaign in the United States, which ended in disappointment with a playoff defeat against Seattle.
Gerrard has returned to Merseyside following the end of Galaxy's MLS campaign, and attended Liverpool's 2-1 Premier League defeat at home to Crystal Palace on Nov. 8.
Reds manager Jurgen Klopp has offered the former club captain the opportunity to train with the team in order to maintain his fitness before he returned to the United States in January.
