'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAUACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABhAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABwgQAAICAgICAwAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwUABAYSBxExQVEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMEEQEAAgEFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABABIxAhEhcaH/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AIz4Xp6TkfizlNjvaCSWGvsSPHtF2BSWKAyLLGAQEc9fT/TZmmO2oXjVnqNgOygsIrCWOME/PRPR6r+DGMmqX1GODDtGVqdp4T//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Henry Barrios, a lucky football memorabilia collector, has sold a one-off Lionel Messi sticker for an eye-popping £115,000.
Italian manufacturer Panini released a limited number of stickers with different coloured borders for all 600 players competing at the Qatar World Cup. Each pack contained five stickers.
Barrios purchased 300 packs of Panini stickers for his World Cup collection in September. In one of the packs, Barrios found a unique Messi sticker, which featured the player in Argentina’s standard blue-and-white jersey but with a black border. It was the only Messi sticker in Panini’s 2022 FIFA World Cup collection to have a black border.
After Messi took La Albiceleste to FIFA World Cup glory in Qatar, Barrios decided to sell his one-of-a-kind Panini sticker. At New Jersey’s Goldin Auctions, the sticker sold for a staggering $139,000 (£115,000).
Explaining why the Lionel Messi sticker made £115,000, a spokesperson from Goldin Auctions said (via the Daily Mail):
“The card was produced by Panini as a one-of-one variation of the base Messi sticker in their 2022 Qatar World Cup product. Panini has released World Cup stickers for many years, but this is the first time they had 1-of-1 variations. The sale price is due to the fact that Messi is widely considered one of the best players of all time, and he happened to win the World Cup last year.”
Although the amount is undeniably impressive, it falls significantly short of the most expensive Panini sticker ever sold. That accolade is held by the late Diego Maradona, whose 1980 sticker was won at a 2021 auction for a record £470,000.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Panini sticker from his Sporting Lisbon days (2002) was sold for nearly £60,000 in 2022.
Barcelona defender Sergi Roberto wants Lionel Messi to return to Camp Nou
After 16 trophy-laden seasons, Lionel Messi left Barcelona as a free agent in the summer of 2021. Fans have been waiting for the Paris Saint-Germain player to return, and now, Sergi Roberto has joined the crusade.
In a recent interview, Roberto said that players are already awaiting Messi’s grand return as he left the logistics to be taken care of by the club hierarchy. He said (via Gerard Romero):
“With open arms, who wouldn't be ready for Messi's return. In the end, we don't want to talk too much because it's up to him, the president, the coach, or whoever, but if it's up to the players, we're already waiting for him.”
Lionel Messi's PSG contract runs out in June, but renewal talks are yet to bear fruit. The Argentine icon was recently booed by PSG fans following his disappointing display in the Parisians’ UEFA Champions League Round-of-16 elimination to Bayern Munich.
