Football collectables in your attic that could be worth thousands
Football fans with Bukayo Saka football cards could fetch over £800 .
Ballon d’Or winners Ronaldo and Messi are going for up to $6,000 on eBay .
The final whistle blew on the 2026 FIFA World Cup last week, with England emerging victorious in the third-place play-off, and Spain taking the gold in a dramatic stand-off against previous title holders Argentina.
From the 11th June to the 19th July, millions of football fans watched 48 countries compete across 104 matches to win the coveted title of world champions.
As well as inspiring people across the world to play football, the tournament may have also inspired you to check your attics, cupboards, and bookshelves for football cards or stickers that could be worth more than you realise.
We conducted a study to discover which football collectables are the most valuable, and which players are worth cashing in on.
Which collectables have gained the most value?
Match Attax trading cards have been sold and collected since 2007 and remain among the most widely collected forms of football memorabilia, with player cards for the 2025/2026 season currently still being sold, with the 2026/2027 range available for pre-order. However, older, rarer, and specific player cards can be highly sought after among collectors.
Card value is determined by factors such as player significance and status, card condition, edition, and extra features like player signatures. Packs were originally sold for around 35p, and a mint-condition card of a player who has since become a global star in the sport can become significantly more valuable than its original sale price.
Meanwhile, Panini has released official sticker collections ahead of every major international football tournament since 1961, with full sticker albums being released from 1970. For this year’s World Cup, individual stickers became available for 45p each, with full boxes retailing for as much as £185.
Similar to Match Attax, the value of a single sticker and the whole collection is determined by condition, player signatures and tournament year, with older tournament collections usually being the most valuable.
Which current England squad players are the most valuable?
1. Bukayo Saka
Based on recent eBay listings for the 26 players on this year’s England World Cup team, Saka has the most valuable Match Attax card, with the top listing price of £873.70 for a 2026 platinum card.
This was his second World Cup team appearance, and he has previously played in two European Championship tournaments. He’s also become an invaluable player for Premier League winners Arsenal, so it’s no surprise that the right-winger is highly sought after in Match Attax circles.
2. Jude Bellingham
The 22-year-old is a valuable player to have a card for, with his ‘Maestro de Madrid’ 2024/2025 season card displaying a listing value of £148.91 on eBay.
Bellingham also has accolades to match his teammates, playing in the last World Cup and the last two European Championships for England.
3. Jordan Pickford
The 32-year-old goalkeeper is an England squad mainstay and record-breaker, with eight consecutive clean sheets for the team.
A signed 2024 European Championships Match Attax card has a listing value of 190 euros. Often referred to as one of the best goalkeepers in the world at the moment, his card value seems well-earned.
Who are the most valuable players overall?
Looking beyond England, using this year’s ESPN player rankings of the ‘potential best player on the World Cup-winning team,’ the highest listing value Match Attax cards amongst this World Cup’s top players are:
- Bukayo Saka (England) - £873.70
- Lamine Yamal (Spain) – £369.95
- Michael Olise (France) - £368.20
- Ousmane Dembélé (France) – £156.70
- Bruno Fernandes (Portugal) – £91.11
But which players are the most valuable collectors’ cards and stickers overall? It may come as no surprise that those belong to football greats Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
A Panini sticker released for this year’s tournament of Ronaldo was listed for $6000 on eBay.
Meanwhile, a Champions League card edition from Messi’s stint at Barcelona was listed for £980.
The two players are involved in a popular debate in football about who the best player of all time is, so the value of their collector cards and stickers is hardly surprising.
When it comes to Panini stickers, full collections are valuable on the second-hand market. Vintage boxes from the 1986 Mexico World Cup are listed for as much as £4,000.
For anyone whose parents or grandparents held onto sticker boxes from those tournament eras, a search of the attic could prove very worthwhile.
David Joyson, Chief Customer Officer at specialist home insurer, Homeprotect, shares what you should do if you think you have a valuable card or sticker:
“It’s amazing to see how much these cards and stickers have and can grow in value, and with a World Cup comes the perfect opportunity to dig out old collections to check for a hidden treasure.
“If you believe you have a valuable card or sticker collection at home, the first step is to get it properly assessed. A professional valuation will give you an accurate idea of the item’s value, and from there you can make an informed decision about whether to sell or keep it.
“What many people don’t realise is that standard home contents insurance may not cover special collectables at their market value, especially items that have appreciated significantly since purchase.
“If it turns out that you’re keeping valuable collectables at home, it’s worth reviewing your home insurance policy to ensure they’re adequately covered. Specialist or high-value items may require additional cover or may need to be separately listed on your policy. Keeping records – such as receipts, photographs, and valuation certificates – will also help support any future claim.”
Methodology
We analysed Match Attax and Panini Sticker listing data from eBay in July 2026 to identify the football trading cards, stickers and collections with the highest asking prices.
To find out the most valuable player Match Attax cards, they compared the highest Match Attax card value of the 26 players named to the FIFA World Cup 2026 team and ESPN’s player rankings.