Messi “Perfect 10” Inception Auto /25 PSA 10 Sale

2020-21 Topps Inception UCL The Perfect 10 Autograph Purple Lionel Messi Signed Card (#19/25) - PSA GEM MT 10 - Pop 3

When a modern Lionel Messi autograph in a scarce parallel and top grade sells, collectors tend to pay attention. That’s exactly what happened with this 2020-21 Topps Inception UEFA Champions League “The Perfect 10” Autograph Purple parallel, numbered 19/25, which closed at $12,322 through Goldin on December 27, 2025.

Below is a breakdown of what this card is, why it matters, and how this sale fits into the broader soccer card market.

Card basics: what exactly sold?

Let’s identify the card clearly first:

Player: Lionel Messi
Team / Era: FC Barcelona era, featuring him in the UEFA Champions League
Year: 2020-21
Product: Topps Inception UEFA Champions League
Insert / Subset: “The Perfect 10” Autograph
Parallel: Purple
Serial numbering: #19/25 (only 25 copies of the purple parallel were produced)
Autograph: Signed, on-card (Messi signs directly on the card surface, not on a sticker)
Grading company: PSA
Grade: PSA GEM MT 10 (PSA’s highest standard grade)
Population: Pop 3 – only three copies of this exact card/parallel/grade combo in the PSA population report at the time of sale.

This is not a rookie card – Messi’s true rookies go back to mid-2000s issues such as Panini and early Barca releases. Instead, this card is a modern, low-serial-number, on-card auto from a premium Champions League product, built squarely for collectors who prioritize scarcity and strong design.

Why this set and insert matter

Topps Inception UCL (2020-21) applies the Inception brand’s thick stock, bold artwork, and hit-focused checklist to the Champions League. Compared to flagship-style sets (which are mass-produced with large base sets), Inception is:

Hit-centric: Boxes are built around autographs and memorabilia rather than large base runs.
Shorter print runs: Fewer total cards, making key parallels harder to find.
Design-driven: Painted / artistic look that often appeals to collectors who like a more premium aesthetic.

Within this product, “The Perfect 10” is a themed autograph set focused on elite players wearing the number 10 shirt. Messi, widely considered one of the greatest to ever wear that number, is the clear headliner. Combine that with:

A low serial number (out of 25)
On-card signature
Top grade (PSA 10)

…and you get a card that sits near the top of modern non-rookie Messi offerings from this release.

Grading, pop report, and condition

A few terms in plain language:

PSA 10 (GEM MT): PSA’s highest standard grade, indicating a card with sharp corners, very clean surfaces, strong centering, and no noticeable flaws to the naked eye.
Pop report (population report): The count of how many copies of a specific card have been graded at each grade level by a grading company.

Here, the card is:

PSA GEM MT 10
Pop 3 – only three PSA 10 examples of this exact purple /25 version are recorded.

Thick-stock cards like Inception often come with factory edge and corner issues, making high grades harder to achieve. That context helps explain why a PSA 10, even for a modern card, can carry a meaningful premium.

Market context and price positioning

The card sold for $12,322 at Goldin on December 27, 2025.

While detailed transaction histories for this exact serial number (#19/25) are typically private, we can frame the sale by looking at:

Other Messi autos from 2020-21 Inception UCL (different parallels or slightly different inserts).
Sales of similar on-card, low-serial Messi autos from neighboring products and years.

Across recent public sales on major marketplaces and auction houses, some general patterns emerge:

Base or higher-numbered Messi autos (for example, /99 or /75 from modern sets with sticker autos, or less central inserts) tend to sell in the low-to-mid four figures in strong grades, depending heavily on design, brand, and image.
Shorter print runs and on-card autos – especially those with clear player association (like “Perfect 10” for Messi) – can move those numbers into the mid-to-high four figures, and occasionally above, when grade and eye appeal are strong.
Premium low-serial Messi autos from flagship soccer brands (Topps Chrome, Finest, Immaculate, etc.) with gold or color parallels and high grades can reach well into five figures, especially when tied to iconic images or early-era cards.

Within that spectrum, a $12,322 result for a:

Purple /25
On-card auto
PSA 10, Pop 3

sits near the upper end of what collectors generally expect for non-rookie, modern Messi autographs tied to premium but not ultra-luxury brands. It doesn’t approach the record levels reserved for Messi rookie cards or 1/1 “grails,” but it does reinforce that well-designed, short-printed on-card autos of all-time greats can support five-figure prices in top grade.

How this fits into the broader Messi and soccer card market

A few wider points help put this sale in perspective:

1. Modern vs. rookie-era Messi cards

Rookie-era Messi cards (mid-2000s) – especially early Panini issues and rare parallels – sit at the very top of the Messi market.
Modern Messi autos like this one represent a different lane: they’re about scarcity, autograph quality, and product appeal rather than being “firsts.”

For many collectors, the strategy is:

Chase a rookie or early-era card at whatever grade/price is achievable, and
Complement it with a modern, visually strong, low-serial auto.

This Inception “Perfect 10” fits squarely into that second category.

2. Champions League focus

The card is branded around the UEFA Champions League, where much of Messi’s club legacy was built. Champions League-branded cards tend to:

Resonate globally, not just with a single club’s fanbase.
Attract collectors who focus specifically on European competition records and milestones.

That pan-European identity has helped Champions League products become an anchor for modern soccer releases.

3. Ultra-modern soccer and population dynamics

This card sits in the ultra-modern era (roughly mid-2010s to present), where collectors are often concerned about overprinting and grading volume. However, several factors still support scarcity here:

The insert and parallel are limited by design (only 25 copies of the purple).
Condition-sensitive thick stock reduces the odds of a perfect grade.
Only three PSA 10s exist in the pop report at the time of sale.

Even in a period of higher overall production, highly limited, well-graded cards of all-time greats can remain meaningfully scarce.

Why collectors care about this specific card

Summarizing the appeal:

All-time great player: Lionel Messi, widely viewed as one of the greatest footballers ever.
Thematic fit: “The Perfect 10” is a natural pairing with his iconic number 10 shirt.
Short print: Purple parallel limited to 25 copies.
On-card autograph: Strong signature presentation, preferred over sticker autos by many collectors.
Top grade, very low pop: PSA 10 with a population of 3 makes it an elite condition example.
Champions League branding: Ties directly to one of the most important stages of Messi’s club career.

For newcomers or returning collectors, this card is a clear example of how modern high-end soccer cards derive value from a mix of player greatness, design, scarcity, and grade.

What this sale might suggest – within reasonable limits

This $12,322 Goldin sale doesn’t reset the Messi market, but it does provide a useful data point:

For collectors: It reinforces that thoughtfully designed, limited, on-card Messi autos in PSA 10 can command strong five-figure-level attention, even when they’re not rookie-era pieces.
For small sellers: It’s a reminder that details matter when you list or consign similar cards – clearly noting serial numbering, pop report, autograph type, and grading can be crucial when reaching serious bidders.
For newer hobbyists: This result shows how “comps” (recent comparable sales) for related parallels and grades can help you understand where a card sits in the market, without treating any one sale as a guarantee of future value.

As always, markets move over time with player performance, broader economic conditions, and shifting collector focus. Individual results like this Goldin sale are best viewed as useful reference points, not promises.

Key takeaways

2020-21 Topps Inception UCL “The Perfect 10” Autograph Purple Lionel Messi /25 is a modern, premium on-card auto, not a rookie, but clearly a key modern issue.
This copy, #19/25, graded PSA GEM MT 10 (Pop 3), sold for $12,322 at Goldin on December 27, 2025 (UTC).
The price sits toward the upper end of recent ranges for comparable modern, non-rookie Messi autos, reflecting the combination of low print run, strong theme, and top grade.
For collectors building a Messi or modern soccer PC, this sale highlights how much weight the market places on design, scarcity, and grade—not just the name on the front of the card.

For figoca users tracking the soccer card market, this sale is a clean example of how to read a modern autograph comp: look beyond just the price and into the combination of player, product line, parallel, autograph type, serial number, and grade that produced it.