Three Essential Cards of Lionel Messi
On Saturday, Lionel Messi once again showed his ability to utterly dominate his opponents in Major League Soccer. Two goals, two assists, as his Inter Miami team blew out the New York Red Bulls 5-1. On the field, Messi still has a stupendous top gear that makes him one of the most impactful players in world soccer. In The Hobby, Messi truly stands alone. While the GOAT debate betwen Messi and Ronaldo has raged for years, when it comes to the card market, Messi is incomparable when it comes to the Beautiful Game. Let's look at three of his most important trading cards.
Another ✨special✨ night for Leo Messi.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 20, 2025
His last seven MLS games:
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️
🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️ pic.twitter.com/bFFKSpiNjo
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2004 Panini Sports Mega Cracks #71 Lionel Messi
This iconic early Messi card simply could not be left off this list. Six of the top ten Messi sales of all-time, per Card Ladder, are for versions of this card. In January of 2024, a PSA 10 sold for over $300,000. Card Ladder's value metric currently has the card worth almost $600,000.
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2014 Panini Prizm World Cup #12 Lionel Messi Gold Prizm
Messi was magnificent during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He took home the Golden Ball as Player of the Tournament, scoring four goals, and leading Argentina to the final, where they lost 1-0 to Germany. His 2014 Panini World Cup Gold Prizm card is numbered to 10 and is also the top Messi card sale of all-time. A PSA 10 sold through Goldin for $522,000 in 2022.
2004 Mundi Cromo Las Fichas De La Liga #617 Lionel Messi
Messi's 2004 Mundi Cromo card is the first card of the GOAT as a Barcelona player. While the card has not sold for nearly as much as the previous two on this list - the top price for this card is just over $30,000 - it remains an essential piece of Messi's Hobby history. The most recent sale of the card came on July 17, when a PSA 8 sold for $915.
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Messi's place at the top of the soccer Hobby is undoubted. Per Card Ladder, his market cap of over $42 million is $30 million more than that of his closest rival on the field and in The Hobby, Cristiano Ronaldo. There are many more important cards that help to tell the story of this athlete's transcendent career, but these three belong in any conversation.
Michael Terry is a writer based in Brooklyn. He specializes in sports, culture, and collecting. His work has appeared at Topps RIPPED, ESPN, Grantland, Vice Sports, and more.
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