Find out the sad reason football great Nathan Buckley auctioned off some of his most prized AFL possessions
- AFL legend selling over 200 football items
- Includes 2002 AFL Grand Final jersey
AFL legend Nathan Buckley has been forced to auction off some of the best memorabilia from his successful football career due to his “traumatic divorce”.
Among the more than 200 items on offer is the champion midfielder’s grand final jersey, from his best on-field effort in Collingwood’s 2002 defeat to Brisbane.
The father of two saw his marriage to Tania Minnici end in 2020, and it proved to be a costly exercise.
AFL legend Nathan Buckley has auctioned off some of his most prized possessions due to his ‘traumatic divorce’ from ex-wife Tania Minnici (pictured together)
Among the more than 200 items up for grabs is the champion midfielder’s AFL grand final jersey, from his best on-field effort in Collingwood’s 2002 loss to Brisbane.
“It is unlikely that the Nathan Buckley collection would have been offered at public sale without the divorce of Nathan and his ex-wife Tania,” said auctioneer Charles Leski.
“This collection, sold under difficult circumstances, gives us a rare insight into the life of a sporting hero.”
It comes as the man affectionately known as ‘Bucks’ in football circles said parting ways with Tania had been tough.
He has since found love with business manager Brodie Ryan after dating cosmetic nurse Alex Pike.
“The most traumatic thing that happened to me recently was the breakdown of my marriage,” Buckley said in an interview with News Corp last September.
“The two most important things to me were family and football.
Buckley is a Collingwood legend, playing for the Magpies from 1994 to 2007
The former Lions and Pies great played with Brodie Ryan (pictured together)
“When the family element started to fall apart, my immediate family, I paid even more attention to football.”
Buckley added he was grateful his AFL comrades were there for him and said they had helped him get his life back on track.
He also admitted that he still has difficulty letting go of the past, as he still struggles with “a lot of emotion”, “a little anger” and “still a little bit of grief”.
