From Buenos Aires to collectors’ shelves around the world, Lionel Messi has added another landmark to a career already crowded with them. A Topps NOW card featuring Argentina’s captain has become the best-selling release in the history of the collection, with 664,325 copies purchased.
Quick facts
- Messi’s Argentina-themed Topps NOW card sold 664,325 copies.
- The total is the highest ever recorded for a Topps NOW release.
- Sales beyond 500,000 triggered the collection’s first White OpalFractor 1-of-1 parallel card.
- The unique parallel is signed by Messi.
- One buyer of the standard card will receive the one-off edition with their order.
The result places the World Cup-winning Argentina skipper at the centre of another global sporting market, this time away from matchday and stadium lights. Topps NOW produces cards tied to recent sporting moments, allowing supporters to order editions shortly after an event.
Demand for the Messi card went far beyond the threshold required for a special release. Passing 500,000 sales activated a White OpalFractor parallel, a format never previously issued in the Topps NOW range.
Only one such card exists. It also carries Messi’s autograph, making it the most exclusive item connected to the record-breaking release.
The signed card will not be sold separately: it is set to be included with the order of one collector who bought the regular edition. For the recipient, it will be a singular prize from a release that has rewritten the collection’s sales record.
Messi’s influence has long extended beyond Argentina’s national side and the clubs of his playing career. The 664,325-card figure is further evidence of his enduring international pull, turning another chapter in his football story into a major collectible event.
