Ronaldo Kaboom! Card Sale Sets Two All-Time Records
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Cristiano Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time and one of the most popular athletes of the century. When all is said and done, the sport's history books will tell tales of the Portuguese superstar for generations to come.
For all the records he's broken and owned in football, Ronaldo's fallen behind in market share when it comes to the world of sports cards. That is, until just a few days ago, when a massive record-breaking event completely shook up the football card-collecting space.
1/1 Kaboom! Sets Two Records in One Sale
There can no longer be any debate about what the greatest Cristiano Ronaldo card in the world is. This 1/1 Green Kaboom! from Panini's 2018 release, which also received a PSA 10 grade, sold for $1.35M through a private deal brokered by Fanatics Collect on May 22nd.
It is the most valuable Ronaldo card of all time and the second-most valuable football card ever sold, only behind the 2004 Panini Sports Mega Cracks Lionel Messi PSA 10 MBA Gold Diamond, which sold for $1,500,000.
While the price tag is certainly nothing we have ever seen before for a Ronaldo card, the desirability of such a grail isn't hard to explain. With the perfect combination of hype for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, a throwback to Ronaldo's Juventus stint, and the undeniable desirability of a 1/1 Kaboom!, this card really had all the makings of a historic piece. It being a Juventus jersey for the top sale is the only surprise.
Previous Ronaldo Sale Record Holder
The previous record for any Cristiano Ronaldo card sale was set by a PSA 10 copy of his from the 2002-03 Panini Sports "Mega Craques" set. The card, which shows Ronaldo in his Sporting kit from before the days of Manchester United and Real Madrid, sold for $312,000 in October 2021 and is generally considered his rookie card.
Similar cards have sold over the years, and up until May 22, 2026, the Mega Craques occupied the top 12 spots in all Ronaldo sales history. Though easily comparable to Lionel Messi's 2004 Panini Sports Mega Cracks RC, they never quite hit the same high in terms of value.
Other Top Ronaldo Card Sales
The record-setting Kaboom! wasn't the only grail Ronaldo card that sold that day, as his 2015 Panini Flawless Black 1/1 in PSA 7 AUTO 10 dual grades also sold through Fanatics (the same platform that made the private deal happen).
It would have set the old record for top Ronaldo sale when it sold for $420,000 through auction and is now the second-most valuable Ronaldo card ever sold.
Past the long list of Cristiano Ronaldo Mega Craques RCs is this Gold Prizm /10 from the 2014 Panini Prizm World Cup. Graded PSA 10, it's the most valuable Ronaldo card in a Portugal kit, at $162,000.
It took the Lionel Messi Green Kaboom sale to set off the Messi market; could we be seeing the same for Ronaldo?
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Joaqin is a journalist with a strong passion for the Hobby. He has published work for HLTV.org, Rappler.com, and DLSU Sports. A decade-long Pokémon TCG collector, he recently shifted into sports cards to collect Lakers, Dodgers and Chargers players with growing PCs of Shohei Ohtani and Justin Herbert.