Liverpool FC’s original ‘This Is Anfield’ sign has sold for £115,000, but the historic piece of football memorabilia has a remarkable Isle of Man connection.

The sign, first installed at Liverpool’s famous stadium by legendary manager Bill Shankly in 1972, fetched more than seven times its £15,000 guide price at auction on Wednesday.

With commission and VAT added, the final cost will rise above £138,000.

But after becoming one of the most recognisable signs in English football, the original spent decades hanging in a Douglas hotel.

The sign was gifted to former Liverpool youth player Ron Wilson by ex-manager and Boot Room member Roy Evans after it was removed from Anfield.

Wilson did not make it into the professional game but later took the sign with him when he opened a bed and breakfast in the Isle of Man.

It was then displayed in the bar of the Rutland Hotel in Douglas, where it remained until 2000.

After the B&B was sold, the sign was passed to his son Ian and placed into storage.

It was later displayed in his office from the mid-2010s until his recent retirement, before the family decided to sell the remarkable piece of football history.

The sign’s identity as the original was only confirmed through research by auctioneers Budds, who spotted distinctive cracks, paint marks and chips when comparing it with photographs from Liverpool’s history.

It had previously been believed the original sign was removed when Shankly was replaced by Bob Paisley in 1974.

However, photographs of players including Alan Hansen, Kenny Dalglish and Frank McGarvey show the original remained in place for several more years.

Shankly famously saw the sign as more than just decoration, saying: ‘It’s there to remind our lads who they’re playing for and to remind the opposition who they’re playing against!’

The buyer has not been named, although there is hope among supporters that it will remain in Liverpool.