Adam Wharton Wins Signed Steven Gerrard Shirt from 2005 Champions League
Adam Wharton didn’t just buy a shirt. He bought a piece of the night that defines Liverpool.
The Crystal Palace midfielder – and one of Liverpool’s prime transfer targets – has been caught on camera nervously bidding on a rare signed Steven Gerrard jersey from the 2005 Champions League triumph in Istanbul. The footage, taken from an eBay Live auction and now circulating on social media, shows Wharton under the username @whartttty riding out the final seconds of the sale.
The clock runs down. His last bid: £410.
The shirt in question is no ordinary collectible. It’s a Liverpool home top emblazoned with “European Champions Istanbul 2005”, Gerrard’s signature planted squarely above the old Carlsberg sponsor. A snapshot of the club’s fifth European crown, frozen in ink.
As the auction closes and he’s confirmed as the winner, Wharton leans back in his chair, grinning, and says simply: “We got it.” No fanfare, just the quiet buzz of someone who knows exactly what he’s just landed.
The clip then jumps to the 22-year-old outside, holding the package that’s finally arrived.
“So the shirt from Icon Memorabilia’s live stream has just arrived – here it is. What a beauty that is,” he says, before the camera flips to the jersey stretched out on a sun lounger, basking in the sunlight like a relic on display.
For Liverpool supporters, that inscription and that signature drag the mind straight back to one of the most dramatic nights the competition has ever seen. Istanbul. The Ataturk Olympic Stadium. A final that looked dead and buried by half-time.
Paolo Maldini had stunned Liverpool with a goal inside the first minute. Hernan Crespo then added two more before the break, giving AC Milan’s star-studded side a 3-0 lead and leaving Rafael Benitez’s team staring at humiliation.
What followed has been told and retold on Merseyside for nearly two decades.
Liverpool came out after the interval transformed. Gerrard rose to head in on 54 minutes, sparking belief where there had been none. Two minutes later, Vladimir Smicer drove in a second. The impossible suddenly felt close.
On the hour, Xabi Alonso stepped up from the penalty spot. His initial effort was saved, but he followed in to smash home the rebound and drag the game level at 3-3. From there, it became a test of nerve and resilience. Both sides dug in, defended desperately and dragged themselves through extra-time.
The final went to penalties. Liverpool edged it 3-2, with Serginho, Andrea Pirlo and Andriy Shevchenko all failing to convert for Milan. Gerrard lifted the club’s fifth European Cup, cementing his status as a legend and etching that shirt Wharton now owns into football folklore.
That a current Premier League midfielder – and one heavily linked with a move to Anfield – is spending his time and money chasing Gerrard memorabilia will only fuel the noise around his future.
Wharton has emerged as a major target for Liverpool this summer, even as Crystal Palace fight to keep hold of him. The Eagles are understood to have placed a price tag in the region of £78 million on the England international, a figure designed to test the resolve of any suitor.
Liverpool are not alone in their admiration. Real Madrid are also credited with strong interest, setting up the prospect of a heavyweight battle for his signature.
For now, Wharton remains a Palace player. But a young midfielder bidding on Istanbul history, grinning over a Gerrard autograph, and being courted by Europe’s elite?
If he does walk out at Anfield one day, nobody will doubt he already understands exactly what that red shirt is supposed to mean.
