Former Watford, Liverpool and England star John Barnes threw away £15,000 in a moment of "immense frustration."

After the FA Cup final between Liverpool and Manchester United at Wembley on May 11, 1996, Barnes and Eric Cantona - who scored Manchester United’s winning goal in that 1996 cup final - swapped shirts.

In a moment of "immense frustration" in the Liverpool dressing room after the match, Barnes threw Cantona’s shirt to the floor. It was then picked up by Barnes’ team mate, Neil 'Razor' Ruddock, who asked Barnes if he could keep the shirt as a memento.

Now seventeen years later, Ruddock has sold the shirt at an auction for £15,000.

Before the sale, at Graham Budd Auctions in London, the shirt had been expected to sell for between £8,000 and £12,000. It was bought by a mystery bidder.

Watford Observer:

Cantona's shirt sold for £15,000

Barnes was a hero of the Rookery End in the 1980s, scoring 65 goals in 233 Football League appearances before he was sold to Liverpool on June 9, 1987.

He and Kenny Jackett remain Watford’s most capped players - Barnes made 31 appearances for England while with Watford, Kenny Jackett made 31 appearances for Wales with the club.

At Liverpool he won league and FA Cup winners medals and scored 84 goals in 314 games.

In total he played 79 times for England, scoring 11 times - including his wondergoal in Estádio do Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro against Brazil in June, 1984.

He had short spells at Newcastle United and Charlton before ending his career in a distinguished managerial spell at Celtic.

Later this year, on November 7, Barnes will celebrate his milestone fiftieth birthday.