Lionel Messi is usually at the top of any lists he’s in.
But, looking down the list of the most-valuable-ever sports trading cards sold I find myself struggling to find Leo.
A card featuring his likeness is the most valuable ever soccer card sold.
But to reach Lionel I have to read through no fewer than 27 other names to reach him.
The record-breaking Young Lionel. Image courtesy Fanatics Collect.
Why’s that?
Football or soccer is the world’s game.
But, as yet, it is not America’s game.
And America is the world capital of sports trading cards.
It’s by no means the only market in the world, there’s a sizeable British sector, but the US is like a Black Hole or a Red Giant in terms of its size and power in the sports card universe.
So, our antenna are twitching a little as we enter 2026.
A Red Letter Year for soccer?
In fact, in our year’s start predictions, Paul Fraser himself went straight for sports cards as his tip for the year.
Few people know collecting as well as Paul Fraser and he spies a good year for soccer ahead.
He said: “There are as many as 420 million trading card collectors in the world. That’s a hell of a market - the population of the US is around 340 million - and they’re dedicated to their hobby.
“In 2026 the FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States will heighten interest in sports cards in general and football or soccer cards in particular. Italian publishers Panini have been producing their World Cup albums since 1970 and you could see prices rising exponentially in this sector.
“In other sports the 75th anniversary of Topps baseball cards will drive massive interest.”
Adding: "We will be watching the World Cup and its impact on the collecting world with interest."
A steady growth
Last September, two private sales on the new Fanatics network saw Messi cards go for $1.5 million and $1.1 million.
Both had perfect-10 condition grades.
The previous record was a $1.33 Pele card, again, a private sale in 2022.
In auctions, a 2014 Panini Prizm World Cup Gold Prizm #12 Lionel Messi card was sold in 2022 for $522,000.
Built on global foundations
The Premier League is the most popular football league on the planet.
The last broadcast deal for the United States cost $1 billion.
Broadcasters in that market don’t pay money like that without an audience.
And, the US’s own soccer leagues have also come on in leaps and bounds.
Earlier attempts to run soccer leagues in North America have had mixed success - and produced some beautiful collectible shirts.
But, MLS (Major League Soccer) seems to be working as a long-term prospect.
Our friend Lionel Messi is playing there, for champions Inter Miami, in a 25,000 seater stadium.
The new national streaming deal with Apple TV was reporting a claimed 50% increase in per-game viewing figures in 2026.
The league is 32 years old. It's not a flash in the pan.
Enter FIFA
The MLS was set up as part of a deal that allowed the US to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup Finals.
And they’re back for 2026.
This will, as Paul says, undoubtedly drive interest in the game under the Stars and Stripes.
There are some new complications here.
The tournament is being jointly hosted between the United States, Mexico and Canada.
But, while the group games are shared out between the three hosts, the vast majority of the knock-out games will be played in the USA, with a final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The 82,000-seater ground is normally the home of the New York Giants and the New York Jets, and was the site of the Giants Stadium that hosted the famous Italy v Ireland game at the 1994 World Cup - a very New York affair.
There are concerns about how fans will navigate the US’s newly restrictive immigration system. Even if some teams will be allowed to attend.
But, there’s no doubt that there will be a huge focus on the game in the US.
The national team, the USMNT, has potential.
This is a TOPPS Premier League card for Brendan Aaronson of Leeds United. If he makes himself a US hero this summer, you should expect values for his cards to rise across the board. Image from eBay.
American players now appear in the best leagues in the world: the current squad includes players from the top divisions in France, Germany, the Netherlands and England (as long as Leeds United and Bournemouth stay up).
They’re drawn in a decent group, with Panama, Australia, and probably Turkey.
(The women’s team are, of course, already established as just about the world’s number one team, and the way soccer found an American home via the girl’s game is well known.)
A USMNT making their way through the knockout stages will drive enormous enthusiasm in a country celebrating its 250th anniversary.
It might have taken a peace prize, but Donald Trump seems to be on board. He's a nationalist who loves success. How the USMNT react to any attention from him may generate controversy, but it won't diminish interest.
Individual stars
Soccer is the ultimate team sport.
But we’re looking for stars.
And that’s what sells sports cards.
The soccer sports card market
The best-established name in soccer cards is Panini.
The Panini's lance has been familiar to British kids for decades. Image courtesy of Panini Group.
They were formed in Modena, Italy in 1960, initially as a newspaper distribution company that accidentally discovered a massive demand for collectible stickers.
Their soccer stickers really took off as a global phenomenon after the 1970s World Cup in Mexico. The tournament was a breakthrough event for world football, and is still regarded as one of the best in terms of the quality of play.
Brazil beat Italy 4 - 1 in an entertaining final that was seen as a battle of philosophies: the efficiently defensive Azzurri eventually taken apart by the swashbuckling, samba soccer of the Canaries.
Since 2009, they’ve been operating in the US and making extensive moves in US sports card markets.
In January of that year they signed an exclusive NBA deal, and another one with Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers. (Bryant grew up in Italy, where he got the Panini soccer card habit.)
They now sell NBA, NFL, NASCAR, WWE, FIFA and UFC sports cards in the American market.
They say they sold 10 million copies of their collector’s album for the 2010 World Cup finals.
Pele's 1970 World Cup Panini sticker is one of the first legends of soccer card collecting.
TOPPS of the heap
The biggest name in American sports cards is probably TOPPS.
This is a big year for the Brooklyn-founded company as 2026 marks the 75th anniversary of their first baseball cards. (They were founded somewhat earlier, selling gum, to which cards were added as a nice free gift for kids.)
They’re now major soccer card makers with deals to produce UEFA club competition, English Premier League and some club card collections.
Futera are the biggest player in the - now massive - Asian soccer collecting market, and have deals to produce cards for clubs like Liverpool, Barcelona, Olympique de Marseille, and Arsenal.
FIFA official
But, Panini are the official partners with FIFA, so will be producing the legit World Cup products.
They are, in the UK for example:
FIFA 365 2026 Official Sticker Collection and the FIFA 365 Adrenalyn XL™ 2026 collection.
You can buy these already.
Everything you need to get started on a life-long and compelling passion. Image courtesy of Panini Group.
How do these cards become rare? And how do they become valuable?
There’s a very small chance that there may be an error of some sort that slips through all the latest quality control tech and makes it into a packet of stickers or cards.
You should always check even brand-new cards very carefully just on the off chance. And if you find an error then put it somewhere safe immediately.
But, most modern trading card rarities are created to be rare.
When sports cards were first created they were pretty much given away, were (generally) printed in huge numbers, and there was little thought they might be anything more than a child’s passing fancy.
Some of the most famous, record-setting baseball cards are rare by mistake.
The always-treasured 1952 Mickey Mantle card is supposedly as thin on the ground as it is because a load of card were dumped off a dock when they didn’t sell quickly enough.
The 1909 - 11 T206 Honus Wagner is genuinely rare because Wagner withdrew permission to use his image on cards.
Rookie cards tend to be more collectible because nobody knows Lionel Messi (untried, undersized Argentinian teenager) is going to be Lionel Messi (greatest ever play, god king of soccer), so the first cards showing his likeness are less likely to be treasured and jealously kept.
Cards are also pretty fragile, so for a 1900s or 1950s example to survive at all is quite a feat.
But the modern market is mature. Cards are sold for kids to collect, complete albums and trade, but also to collectors who know they have a long-shot chance of landing something very rare.
So, even new cards can be expensive.
These are special cards by TOPPS, showcasing a star player from each PL club. Only one in every 28 packets will contain one. Image courtesy of TOPPS.
What buyers want most of all are signed cards.
Panini was paying 10s of thousands of dollars to players to sign cards back in the 2010s. Ronaldo was one of the big names who did it.
And similar deals will now see 2,500 autographed cards released in the Adrenalyn series.
Players like Lionel Messi (no doubt this will be the most sought after), Vini Jr and legends like Alan Shearer and Zinedine Zidane are among the 33 signers.
There are also limited edition parallel platinum cards.
An earlier generation signed card showing French great Zinedine Zidane, currently selling for just under £700 online. Image from eBay.
These are near doubles of standard cards, with a special feature to mark them out.
Some of these are being sold with a football magazine as an exclusive deal.
Others come when you spend over a certain amount online.
Among the players featured are: Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lamine Yamal.
These will also have some value in future.
Where can you buy soccer trading cards in 2026?
You can buy your cards directly from the suppliers, all of whom do online sales.
A small number of specialist sellers - for example Card Vault for Panini - also sell them new.
Or, in the UK, you can pop into a Sports Direct or Argos Store and walk out with a pack or two of Panini stickers.
Topps cards are usually sold through specialist collectibles shops in the UK.
And they also seem to be listed at B&M bargain stores.
Secondary markets for sports trading cards
Once they’re out of the primary market they’re all over the place.
A full examination of these markets will surely be on our blogs in future.
You'll find them online at specialist sites, general auction sites, and sometimes in the finest, most storied auction houses in the world.
There is a minor, but not-to-be-ignored, problem with forgeries in the trading card market.
Signed, sealed, authenticated, certificated and listed at Goldin auctions, one of the biggets online marketplaces for sports cards, this Panini Yamal sticker is going to make several hundred dollars at least. Image courtesy of Goldin.
What can you do about this?
Using trusted sellers is the best defence.
Valuable cards are now usually sold with professional, third-party grading and authentication.
That’s why you see cards sealed in plastic slabs with authentication and certification firmy marked on them. And those slabs need to stay sealed to retain their utility.
If you’re buying new cards with an eye to reselling, all collectors will know that preserving them in the best possible condition from the moment you acquire them is vital. Some sort of acid-free storage arrangement in a good, temperature and humidity controlled environment is ideal.
Guaranteed quality for collectors
We are the world’s largest rare collectibles company by the value of our holdings.
And we guarantee everything we sell with our own certification.
And, with the only guarantee that matters - your money back if we’re wrong.
We trust our judgement, so you can too.
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