There was a time when glory on the elite stage didn’t mean financial riches in football. While Erling Haaland sits on a contract worth £500,000-a-week at Manchester City, and Liverpool line up a potential £150million bid for Alexander Isak, England’s World Cup heroes of 1966 could be forgiven for wishing their success had come in a different era.
The group was handed a £1k bonus between them following the 4-2 final win over West Germany at Wembley. It amounted to just over £45 per squad member. Indeed, for one England star, his prized possessions from the tournament were later used to ensure his family were set up financially.
At 21, hard-working midfielder Alan Ball was the youngest player to start the final. Playing for Blackpool at the time, he would later have stints with Everton, Arsenal, and Southampton before retiring in 1983, having played 72 times for the Three Lions.
A management career followed, which included Premier League tenures back at The Dell and with Manchester City. Sadly, heart problems ended his life prematurely, and Ball died in 2007 at the age of 61.
But not before he’d provided future stability for his loved ones. In 2005, he sold his World Cup winners' medal at Christie’s in London to then Bolton Wanderers owner Edwin Davies for £140k.
At the time, Ball explained his decision. He insisted that not having the memento wouldn’t taint his memories of the tournament, and argued his family had to come first.
“I have three children and three grandchildren, and the most important thing for me is to make sure that they are looked after as well as possible,” he said. “Winning the World Cup in 1966 will stay with me forever, but it is time to look to the future, not the past.”
In 2022, his medal was again sold, this time at an auction, for £200k. It was brought alongside Ball's red World Cup final shirt, which raised £130k, and trademark cap, which fetched £115k.