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A man in Sheffield was left stunned after buying Michael Schumacher’s charity football shirt for £28.
The German player wore this strip while playing a match in Monaco in 2004.
However, Lee Clapp didn’t know this when he purchased the jersey from the Glass Onion vintage clothing store.
He took a look at the shirt after looking at the unique sponsors and manufacturers involved in creating the design.
F1 icon Michael Schumacher wore this strip while playing in a charity football match in 2004
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According to The Star he said: “I’m interested in retro football shirts.
“There was this football shirt hanging by the door.
“The sponsor was German, the manufacturer was Italian and the other sponsor looked to be Japanese.
“I thought ‘for £28 I’ll take it and do some research.’
Clapp then took to the Internet to find out more about the Schumacher shirt.
He posted on various Reddit forums, contacted the Michael Schumacher Foundation and also contacted experts on the matter.
Images from 2004 showed Schumacher wearing the jersey while playing in a charity match after that year’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Clapp tried to verify whether the shirt was genuine or not.
He reached out to former F1 driver Maro Engel, who also attended the football match.
Angel did not answer. However, Clapp boldly decided to take action into his own hands.
The 28-year-old attended the Belgian Grand Prix in July and waited at the VIP entrance.
After learning of the news through social media, he knew Engel would be attending the event.
Clapp was waiting near the Eau Rouge corner and saw someone with a Ferrari pass by. He then asked them about the shirt and requested that they send Engel a message to check his messages on social media.
The 38-year-old then responded belatedly and finally gave the fan the answer he was looking for.
Engel told Clapp that the shirts were not made for fans to buy.
This makes this strip extremely rare, only a few strips were made for Schumacher for this event.
The F1 fan said: “The players will have two or three shirts made for them in different sizes.
,[The verification] The year and a half of research I did was solidified and it felt good to share that moment with Coach’s fans.”
Clapp has since discovered that the shirt he bought for just £28 was actually worth much more.
The eBay listing shows the strip is worth around £3,500.
Michael Schumacher won seven F1 titles during his time in the sport
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However, the Sheffield man has no plans to sell.
Instead he has Schumacher’s strip framed and keeps it at home.
