2015-16 Select Green Prizm Messi PSA 10 Sells

2015-16 Panini Select Green Prizm Lionel Messi PSA 10 Sells for $36,600

On December 7, 2025, Goldin sold a 2015-16 Panini Select Green Prizm #65 Lionel Messi — featuring his iconic blue-and-red striped Barcelona kit — for $36,600. Graded PSA GEM MT 10 and serial-numbered 3/5, this copy is also a population 1 (“pop 1”), meaning it is the only example to achieve a PSA 10 grade so far.

For collectors who focus on modern soccer, this is a quietly important data point for both Messi and mid-2010s Panini Select parallels.

Card overview

Let’s break down what this card actually is:

Player: Lionel Messi
Team: FC Barcelona (striped home shirt)
Year: 2015-16
Set: 2015-16 Panini Select Soccer
Card number: #65
Parallel: Green Prizm, serial-numbered 3/5 on the card
Rookie status: Not a rookie (Messi’s true rookies are mid-2000s issues), but a key low-print modern parallel
Grading: PSA GEM MT 10 (Gem Mint) by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA)
Population: Pop 1 at PSA (no other PSA 10s at the time of sale)

There is no autograph or memorabilia patch on this card. Its appeal comes from:

The very low serial number (only five copies made)
A desirable parallel from an early Panini Select soccer release
The top PSA grade combined with pop 1 scarcity

Why 2015-16 Panini Select matters

Panini Select had already been established in basketball and football before it expanded into soccer. The 2015-16 Select Soccer release sits in an important transition period for the sport in the hobby:

It’s an “early modern” Panini chromium product for soccer, well before the explosion of ultra-modern sets and huge print runs.
Select is known for color-based parallels (like Green, Gold, Tie-Dye) that help define the chase for player rainbows.
The product includes a mix of club and national team uniforms, which gives collectors options depending on what they prefer.

For Messi specifically, 2015-16 sits in his prime Barcelona era. While it’s not tied to a single highlight or tournament, it represents the sustained dominance period that many collectors associate with his peak.

Green Prizm /5: where it fits in the Messi market

Within the Select color ladder, Green Prizm numbered to 5 is a premium low-print parallel. For a global icon like Messi, anything numbered 5 or less starts to push into “grail” territory for player collectors, especially from respected chromium lines.

When you think about this card in the broader Messi market, a few points stand out:

It’s not a rookie, but some collectors now treat early Panini chromium Messi cards (Prizm, Select, etc.) as key modern issues.
It offers extreme scarcity without reaching 1-of-1 territory, which some buyers prefer because it still allows a tiny bit of liquidity and comparability.
Being PSA 10 pop 1 adds an extra layer of scarcity beyond the /5 print run.

Market context and comps

Exact public sales data for this specific card — 2015-16 Select Green Prizm #65 Messi /5 in PSA 10 — is limited. Low-serial, high-grade Messi parallels from this window tend to:

Sell infrequently, because many are locked away with long-term collectors.
Show wide price ranges depending on brand (Prizm vs Select), jersey (club vs country), serial level (/5 vs /10 vs /25), and grade.

Looking at closely related Messi cards from similar eras and formats (for example, other low-numbered parallels from Panini Select and Prizm in BGS 9.5/10 or PSA 9/10):

Gold and Green parallels (/10 and /5) for top brands typically sit in a tier well above common numbered color, especially when graded gem-mint.
PSA 10 and BGS 10 examples often carry a notable premium over PSA 9 or BGS 9.5, particularly when pop counts are in single digits or, as here, pop 1.

Against that backdrop, a $36,600 hammer (or sale price) for a Messi Green /5, PSA 10, pop 1 from a respected chromium line sits in what many hobbyists would consider a serious but not shocking range for a premium, non-rookie, low-numbered Messi card.

Without a string of identical comps to anchor it, this sale is best understood as:

A reference point for future negotiations around 2015-16 Select low-numbered Messi parallels.
Evidence that the market continues to differentiate truly low-print, gem-mint Messi color from more plentiful 2010s inserts and parallels.

Population report and grade scarcity

A population report (or “pop report”) is a tally from a grading company showing how many copies of a card they’ve graded at each grade level.

In this case:

PSA lists this Green Prizm #65 Messi /5 as pop 1 in PSA 10.
Even if a few other copies exist in lower PSA grades or in other grading company holders, the total available supply is capped at five by the serial number.

For a global player with Messi’s following, that kind of scarcity is significant. It means:

Very few collectors will ever own this exact card, in any grade.
The single PSA 10 becomes a natural target for high-end player collectors or set/parallels builders.

Why collectors care about this card

Several factors combine to give this card hobby significance:

Player status
Messi is widely considered one of the top two players of his generation, and often of all time. High-end, low-numbered parallels of players at that level tend to be central pieces in advanced collections.
Set and era
2015-16 Select sits in a pre-boom modern window for soccer cards, where print runs were lower and checklists were more compact compared to some ultra-modern products.
Parallel tier
Green Prizm /5 is a true chase tier parallel, not a mass-printed color. For collectors building Messi color runs or Select rainbows, the /5 is one of the toughest pieces.
Condition + pop
PSA 10 with pop 1 gives this particular copy a logical spot at or near the top of the condition pyramid for this card.

Possible influences on interest

By late 2025, several ongoing storylines may be shaping demand around Messi cards generally:

Career legacy is largely written – multiple Champions League titles, a World Cup, Ballon d’Ors, and major club records.
Post-peak collecting – as a player transitions away from European club dominance, collectors often look back at prime-era cards (like 2010s chromium issues) as historical anchors rather than speculative plays.

Rather than being driven by short-term hype, a card like this tends to attract longer-term collectors who:

Focus on “top 5 all-time” players.
Prefer low-serial, graded examples from established brands.
Occasionally move in and out of pieces when unique opportunities appear at major auction houses.

What this sale tells us

The December 7, 2025 sale at Goldin doesn’t reset the entire Messi market on its own, but it does send a few clear signals:

True scarcity is still rewarded. A /5 parallel in PSA 10 pop 1 is recognized by the market as meaningfully different from more abundant color.
Early Select color has a seat at the table. While Prizm often gets the headlines, this sale shows that Select’s premium parallels can command strong prices as well.
Non-rookie, prime-era cards can be key assets. The hobby continues to value important cards from a player’s peak, not just first-year issues.

For active collectors and small sellers, this sale can be useful in a few ways:

As a benchmark for other low-numbered Messi parallels in similar sets and years.
As a reminder that grade + pop + parallel tier often matter as much as set brand alone.
As context when considering whether to grade, cross-grade, or consign high-end Messi color to major auction houses.

Takeaways for collectors

If you’re building a Messi collection or thinking about entering that lane:

Decide whether you want rookies, prime-era chromes, or a mix. This card sits in the latter category.
Pay attention to serial numbers and pop reports. A /5 with pop 1 is fundamentally different from a /199 with dozens of PSA 10s.
Use sales like this one — a 2015-16 Panini Select Green Prizm #65 Lionel Messi, Striped Jersey (#3/5), PSA 10, Pop 1 selling for $36,600 at Goldin on 12/07/25 — as data points rather than as price guarantees.

As more low-numbered Messi cards surface at auction over time, this sale will likely be one of the reference marks collectors look back to when evaluating where high-end modern Messi parallels sit in the broader soccer card market.