Iconic Cristiano Ronaldo Card Sells for Record Price

Considered one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, the Cristiano Ronaldo card market is heating up, with collectors driving up prices for many of his rare issues.

Jun 22, 2014; Manaus, Amazonas, BRAZIL; Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo (7) against USA during the 2014 World Cup at Arena Amazonia. The game ended in a 2-2 draw. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

When the average collector thinks of Cristiano Ronaldo, there’s one card that instantly comes to mind. Sure, some may point to a handful of early releases, but few would argue against the card widely viewed as “the” Ronaldo rookie, the 2002-03 Panini Sports Mega Craques. And with the hobby continuing to boom, it feels like it was only a matter of time before Ronaldo found himself at the center of a few record-breaking sales.

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According to Card Ladder, a popular platform for tracking card values, the two most recent public sales of this card at the time of writing have both set a new all-time high in their respective grades. On April 15, a PSA 7 copy sold for $13,565.40, up approximately 208.85% from a sale of under $5,000 just a year ago. Meanwhile, just three days earlier, a PSA 5 also reached a record price at $8,700 after selling for only $2,812.10 around the same time last year.

PSA 7 Cristiano Ronaldo Rookie Card That Sold for $13,565.40 on April 15 | https://www.psacard.com/cert/137199645/psa

Now, as seen in the chart below, the soccer card market appears to be in the middle of a rebound after a brief decline that bottomed out in January. Interest seems to have picked back up, and collectors often look to the biggest names first when confidence returns. Given that context, don’t be surprised if you see a few more record sales from iconic soccer players over the next few months.

https://app.cardladder.com/indexes/soccer

In terms of the long-term outlook for this card, there’s no way to truly know if it will continue to increase in value. That said, with how global the hobby has become, it certainly feels like an important card for the future. And while it’s true that the card being graded more than 750 times may seem like a lot, the reality is that for Cristiano Ronaldo, a player firmly etched in the GOAT debate for the most popular sport in the world, it isn’t.