A Panini playing card of a young Cristiano Ronaldo has sold for almost £60,000.
The card was made by the Italian firm in the 2002-03 season when the star made his footballing debut for Sporting Lisbon.
It is the earliest playing card of the footballing legend.
The vast majority of cards from his early years were destroyed or discarded and only about 200 known examples still exist today.
Only about 20 of those are in mint condition, making them incredibly valuable.
Just after it was issued, an 18-year-old Ronaldo mesmerised Sir Alex Ferguson as the
Portuguese team Sporting defeated Manchester United 3-1 in August 2003.
Sir Alex signed the most “exciting young player he had ever seen” for £12.24million.
The card, which features a youthful profile of Ronaldo, sparked excitement at Goldin auctioneers of New Jersey, US, and sold on Sunday for $80,000.
Jamie Salt, of Goldin, said: “This card features one of the greatest players of all time in his earliest officially licensed trading card, known in the industry as a ‘true rookie card’. It was part of a set exclusively produced in Italy for the Portuguese market only.
“Not many examples of this card will have survived, with many people throwing away or burning them and even less copies survived in mint condition.
“Only 200 examples of this card have been graded by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA). This card is one of 22 to have been given the Gem Mint 10 by PSA, meaning it is practically flawless.”
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