Whether you want to add more items to your Messi altar, or to send a gift to your die-hard Messi fan friend, a catalog of Messi-related souvenirs always comes in handy. Here is our take on the list, with items that vary widely in prices, accessibility, and level of exclusiveness.
Lionel Messi is one of the most influential people of our time. Inter Miami, the team for which he began playing last year, started charging between 46% and 82% more for standard season tickets than it did before when he was not a player.
Fans want to see him play. They want to be a part of his story. And they want to own something they can keep for the future, as a remembrance and celebration of his legacy. For those fans of Intern Miami’s, PSG’s, Barcelona’s, and Argentina’s player number 10, here is a list of 10 Messi souvenirs and collectibles that you can buy.
1. Join The Planet collectible boot
This Genesis Edition boot, created by Join The Planet, is a replica of Messi’s iconic left cleat and is a collectible that most fans would want to own. Designed alongside the soccer superstar, this official merch displays a replication of Messi’s signature and comes with a certificate of authenticity and ownership, based on blockchain technology.
Its blue and light blue colors have a reason to be: the collectible is part of a sustainability effort regarding water protection, for which Messi is an ambassador. It was made of recycled plastics and fishing nets that were recovered from rivers and seas around the world, like Argentina and Indonesia.
It also comes with a protective acrylic case, for fans to display it on their top shelves.
Its reliability and sustainability do not make this piece of memorabilia expensive: it can be acquired for $359. You can buy it online right now.
2. Trading cards
Fans can find a wide variety of Lionel Messi cards, depicting him in different moments of his career: as a young player for FC Barcelona or as a FIFA Champion with the Argentina National Team, among others. You can even find Messi signed memorabilia in the shape of trading cards. Of course, Lionel Messi’s autograph will make a card’s price shoot up to the highest levels, like a Topps Chrome card, which can be bought for around $1,400.
Mockup. Actual product may vary. Source: Steinersports.com
3. Messi Funko Pop
Toys can also be Lionel Messi collectibles, especially if they portray Messi in such an adorable and iconic way as Funko Pops. These toys, with their big round eyes, large heads, and tiny bodies, are always associated with pieces of fiction with big fandoms, like epic fantasy series or superhero movies. Messi fans who do not want to stay behind other fan bases can buy one of these toys, and choose which Messi era — or which team jersey — they prefer.
Of course, these toys are not exclusive, and we still have not found an official signed Messi Funko Pop. But, both for real kids and for kids at heart, these toys are a nice touch in any bedroom.
4. Worn Messi souvenirs
Messi’s jerseys can probably be bought in any sportswear store in the world. But hardcore — and millionaire — fans may want something a bit more appealing. Like this set of 6 Argentina shirts, that Messi himself wore in the finals, semifinals, quarter-finals, round of 16, and two Group Stage matches of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
The set is valued at $7.8 million and was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in December 2022, when the Argentinian team had just been crowned as victor
5. UEFA signed ball
Any item with Messi’s autograph on it will be sought for — and its price will be incomparable to the price of its fellow, non-signed items. When the signature is done on a soccer-related item, the result is even more tempting.
Such is the case of this signed ball from the UEFA Champions League. It commemorates the mythical European tournament, in which Messi has participated 18 times, with his teams FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
The official ball is luxuriously crafted and comes with a protective case and a digital certificate of authenticity. The downside of it, as expected, is the price: it costs more than $1,500.
Mockup. Actual product may vary. Source: Icons.com
6. Panini’s FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 sticker album
If the signed ball is out of your reach, next in line is a more affordable Messi souvenir. This is your chance to own something to remember and revisit the FIFA World Cup 2022, which was played in Qatar and gave Lionel Messi his first World Championship. It is tradition for the Italian company Panini to release sticker albums for major soccer events. Stickers of their favorite players, teams, stadiums, and mascots are collected by fans willing to fill every page. The album makes a good collectible, even though Messi's sticker is only one of many.
Even now, almost two years after the World Cup has ended, the album can still be bought with all the loose stickers included, so you can enjoy actually sticking them. Some of Messi’s stickers from past editions, like his sticker from the 2010 World Cup, are collectibles on their own and are found for auction.
Source: ebay.com
7. Mystery signed shirt box – FC Barcelona edition
Any FC Barcelona fan will want Lionel Messi signed memorabilia, but they may also crave the autographs of other stars of the Catalonia team. In this sense, this Barcelona jersey may be well-suited for them, as it comes with a surprise signature from one of the team’s greatest legends: Pep Guardiola, Jordi Alba, and, of course, Lionel Messi, among others.
Buyers can not be sure which signature they will get. Does it mean it is more fun, or more frustrating? We will leave that to you.
Mockup. Actual product may vary. Source: Icons.com
8. Messi NFTs
A Messi non-fungible token (NFT) could make a good Messi souvenir if you consider yourself tech-savvy. NFTs are pieces of unique digital content or art that are encoded into blockchain, so that the owner has domain over the original item, even if it is screenshotted, screen-recorded, or illegally downloaded.
Panini, the same Italian company that created the sticker album previously mentioned, designed Messi NFTs — remember, just copying a screenshot of it does not mean we own the NFT.
9. FIFA World Cup 2022 signed plaque
Yes, another Messi collectible related to the FIFA World Cup 2022. We are sorry, but it was such an epic moment that most of us will never let it go.
Fans can buy, for around $1,400, a signed plaque that contains a picture of the moment Messi lifted the World Cup, surrounded by his teammates, and was crowned victor of the tournament. A nice piece of memorabilia to hang in front of your bed to be seen every day, first thing in the morning.
10. Messi crochet doll
We end this list with an adorable option that fans can buy or, perhaps even better, make it themselves. Or ask their grandmothers to make it, for that matter.
A Messi crochet doll will most likely not be official, but that means you can purchase it for an affordable price. You can buy it to exhibit it on a shelf, to take it with you to live soccer matches, or to sleep with it. We will not judge.
Source: ebay.com
Buy official and affordable Messi souvenirs
Despite the multiplicity of options when searching for Messi souvenirs, signed items stand out as the most memorable ones, as owning them feels like owning a part of the utmost soccer star’s legacy.
Official signed collectibles are usually expensive or hard to get. But some of them, like the Genesis Edition boot, can be bought for an accessible price, and are even part of a sustainability effort.
Buy the Join The Planet signed collectible boot by Leo Messi now.