Woodkirk Stone
Almost 45 years since he last played – and despite Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s sustained nearly two-decade run – Brazilian luminary Pele is still considered by many to be the greatest to ever play the beau world game.
That sentiment was reiterated this week with his rookie card becoming the first in football to sell for $1 million.
Starting Monday, condo company Rally Rd. will complete the sale of a 1958 Alifabologet #635 Pele rookie card for $1.33 million.
According to reports from the people, there are only six such Pele cards that have received at least a rating of nine (out of 10) by the PSA card evaluator, and none more. Last November, collectibles market Goldin brokered a $900,000 sale of another PSA 9 Pele card, a record at the time.
This Pele card (matching the PSA serial number) sold at a Goldin auction in November 2020 for $288,000. Now it is the most expensive football card ever and the first million dollar football card.
Fractional ownership companies — such as Rally Rd., Collectable, Dibbs and others, which offer stock in items rather than outright sales — have thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic and especially in the card space. sports and souvenirs. Typically, deals are kept in-house – hence fractional ownership.
But the offer for that Pelé card was too good to pass up.
“Football has been getting a lot of attention recently and this card in particular has broken the record for ‘most expensive football card’ on several occasions,” says Rob Petrozzo, chief product officer and co-founder of Rally Rd. It was released during the 1958 World Cup campaign, Pelé’s real rookie, none has been ranked higher: it’s a kind of holy grail for [soccer] cards.”
This particular Pelé card went public with Rally in January 2021 at $315,000, for $10 per share. There was a previous takeover offer last November for just over $800,000, which was rejected. Recently, however, a $1.1 million bid materialized, a bidding war ensued, and the $1.33 million bid was ultimately approved by 51% of the 464 investors in the card.
“It used to be such a counterculture, an under-the-radar sport compared to football and basketball [in collecting]”, said Petrozzo. “For football to reach a million dollars, it is a very important step and a benchmark for space.