September 16 – Argentina icon and GOAT contender Lionel Messi has been breaking records on the pitch for nearly two decades. Now he’s rewriting history off it. A pristine 2004-05 Panini Mega Cracks rookie card of the Inter Miami superstar has sold for an eye watering $1.5 million through Fanatics Collect’s new private sales network, setting the benchmark as the most expensive soccer card ever.
The sale eclipses the $1.33 million paid for a 1958 Pele Alifabolaget card in 2022, and it comes hot on the heels of another Messi rookie card, a PSA Gem Mint 10 that was sold for $1.1 million only days earlier.
In the United States, the big money in trading cards has long belonged to baseball, basketball, and American football. A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle sold for $12.6 million in 2022. Compared to that mega price, soccer remains on the outside looking in. However, the market is clearly growing.
PSA has graded 838 copies of the Messi card, but only 20 have achieved the holy grail of a Gem Mint 10. This particular example also carried a Mike Baker Authenticated Diamond label, an industry nod of approval that tells serious collectors the card is beyond elite.
Soccer has always fought for its place in the American sporting consciousness. Now, in the booming collectibles market, it’s staking its claim as a serious business, with serious money being spent in the collectible space.