A rare mint-condition first-ever Panini card of a young Cristiano Ronaldo at Sporting Lisbon in 2002 sells for almost £60,000 at auction in the United States
- A Panini playing card of a young Cristiano Ronaldo has sold for nearly £60,000
- The card shows Ronaldo playing for Sporting Lisbon in the 2002-03 season
- The ‘true rookie card’ was sold for the incredible price at a New Jersey auction
- Only 200 examples of that card exist in the world, with only 22 in good condition
A Panini playing card for a young Cristiano Ronaldo has sold for almost £60,000.
The card was made by the Italian company during the 2002-03 season when the fledgling star, now 37, made his footballing debut for Sporting Lisbon and is the earliest playing card for the legendary striker.
The vast majority of cards from his early years were either destroyed or discarded and only around 200 known examples still exist today. Only around 20 of those are in mint condition, making them incredibly valuable.
A Panini playing card for a young Cristiano Ronaldo has sold for almost £60,000 in the US
The card is a rare hardcopy image of Ronaldo, now at Man United, in his Sporting Lisbon days
Shortly after it was issued, an 18-year-old Ronaldo mesmerised Sir Alex Ferguson when the Portuguese team defeated Manchester United 3-1 in August 2003. The United manager signed the most ‘exciting young player he had ever seen’ for £12million.
The spotless card, which features a youthful profile of the footballing legend, sparked excitement among collectors at Goldin auctioneers of New Jersey, US. It sold on Sunday night with a winning bid of £59,000 ($80,000).
Jamie Salt, director of Goldin, said: ‘This card features one of the greatest players of all time in his earliest officially licensed trading card, otherwise known in the industry as a “true rookie card”. It was part of a set exclusively produced in Italy for the Portuguese market only.
Only around 200 Ronaldo cards from that time still exist today, with only 20 in good condition
‘Not many examples of this card will have survived through the years, with many people throwing away or burning them and even less copies would have survived in mint condition.
‘Only around 200 examples of this card have been graded by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA). This card is just one of 22 copies in existence to have been given the Gem Mint 10 by PSA, meaning it is practically flawless.’
Widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo holds the record for most international goals scored and most goals scored in the Premier League.
In 2009, he was bought for £80m by Real Madrid which was the most expensive transfer of its time.
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