- Nathan Buckley’s prized possessions up for auction
- Footy Great was forced to sell several items due to his divorce.
- His jump from the 2002 grand final sold for $16,000.
A personal trove of items belonging to football legend Nathan Buckley has gone up for auction, with the Collingwood great netting nearly $200,000 of his prized possessions.
The former Pies captain and coach put around 200 items up for sale after being forced to do so as part of his divorce settlement with his wife of 18 years, Tania Minnici.
Among the items on offer was the champion midfielder’s grand final jersey, earned in his best on-field performance in Collingwood’s loss to Brisbane in 2002.
More than 750 fans registered their interest in making Buckley’s items their own, with some even booking free time to attend the auction, and Collingwood also purchased some of the possessions for its own museum.
Seven reports that the total collection, which included boots, shorts and socks from his time with the Pies and Brisbane Bears, sold for $192,000.
Nathan Buckley has made almost $200,000 after selling his prized possessions
The footballer was forced to sell several items after his divorce.
The most expensive item sold was his 2002 finals jersey, which sold for $16,000.
Collingwood supporter and memorabilia collector Chris Fanartzis told Seven that jerseys belonging to Buckley were “really scarce”.
“When something like this happens it’s like the holy grail,” he said.
“I think every kid growing up, including me, laces up their boots and wants to be like Buckley.”
Dylan Parker, another Collingwood collector, said: “I’ve been collecting sweaters for five years and always wanted to have Buckley.”
‘He is an icon. He has played a lot of games for us (and was very) unlucky not to win a premiership, but most of the fans love him.”
Buckley has since found love with business manager Brodie Ryan after previously dating cosmetic nurse Alex Pike.
“The most traumatic thing that has happened to me recently was the breakdown of my marriage,” Buckley said in an interview with News Corp last September.
‘The two most important things for me were family and football.
“When the family element started to fall apart, my immediate family, I gave even more to football.”
Buckley added that he was grateful his AFL teammates were there to help him and said they helped him get his life back on track.
He also admitted that he is still struggling to let go of the past, as he still struggles with “a lot of emotion,” “a little bit of anger,” and “still a little bit of mourning.”