Messi & Ronaldo Dual Auto Red Refractor Sells for $63K

2022-23 Topps Chrome UCC quietly produced one of the most talked‑about modern soccer chase cards: a dual on-card autograph of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. A Red Refractor copy of that card just sold at Goldin, and the result gives us a clearer picture of how the market is valuing high-end dual autos of the two greatest players of their era.

In this post, we’ll walk through the card details, grading and population data, recent market context, and what this specific sale might mean for collectors.

The card at a glance

Card: 2022-23 Topps Chrome UCC Chrome Dual Autographs Red Refractor
Card #: DA-MR
Players: Lionel Messi / Cristiano Ronaldo
Parallel: Red Refractor, serial-numbered 1/5
Autographs: Dual, on-card (signed directly on the card surface)
Grading: PSA MINT 9
Population: Pop 1 at PSA (highest and only PSA 9 at the time of sale)
Era: Ultra-modern soccer

This is not a rookie card. Instead, it’s a premium ultra-modern dual autograph of two established legends. For many soccer collectors, a high-end, low-serial Messi/Ronaldo dual is the definition of a “grail” – a card that can sit at the center of a player, team, or all-time soccer PC (personal collection).

The Red Refractor parallel is limited to only five copies worldwide. Being stamped 1/5 gives it the desirable “first off the line” serial, but within modern collecting that usually matters less than overall scarcity and condition.

The sale: price, venue, and timing

Final price: $63,440
Auction house: Goldin
Sale date (UTC): 2026-02-08

Goldin is one of the major auction houses for high-end sports cards, so premium soccer cards selling there tend to reflect broader high-end demand rather than just a single marketplace anomaly.

A five-figure sale for a modern soccer card is no longer surprising by itself, but this result still stands out because it combines:

Two of the most collected modern players on one card
An on-card dual autograph
A very low print run (out of 5)
A strong grade (PSA 9) with a pop 1 designation

Grading, pop report, and why PSA 9 matters here

Pop report (population report) refers to how many copies of a given card a grading company has encapsulated at each grade level. For this card:

PSA shows this specific Red Refractor dual auto #DA-MR in PSA 9 as a pop 1 at the time of sale.
With only five raw copies in existence to begin with, the ceiling for graded examples is naturally low.

On high-end, low-serial cards, condition is more about relative scarcity than hitting a perfect grade. A PSA 9:

Signals strong centering, corners, and edges on a chromium surface that can easily pick up print lines or micro-scratches.
Often commands a meaningful premium over raw copies when the total print run is this low.

Because the total supply is capped at five, the practical choice for many top-end collectors becomes: accept a PSA 9, or accept not owning the card at all. That dynamic can support strong pricing, especially for a pop 1.

Market context: how does $63,440 fit in?

When looking at “comps” (comparable recent sales), there are some natural reference points:

Other Messi/Ronaldo dual autographs
- Past modern dual autos of Messi and Ronaldo from products like Topps Chrome UEFA and high-end Panini sets have sold in the five-figure range, with low-serial or premium-brand examples occasionally pushing higher in strong markets.
- On-card versions (signed directly on the card) generally command more interest than sticker autographs.
Other parallels of the same card
- Within 2022-23 Topps Chrome UCC Dual Autographs, collectors watch the color/serial ladder: base, refractors, lower-numbered colors, and any 1/1 Superfractor.
- Recent public sales of this exact Red Refractor #DA-MR are limited. With only five copies and at least one now locked into a PSA slab and a permanent collection, there simply aren’t many data points.
High-end single autos of Messi and Ronaldo
- Low-numbered on-card autos of each player individually from respected chromium or premium sets can move in a broad range, depending on brand, set, and design.
- A dual autograph doesn’t necessarily equal “the sum” of the two singles, but the pairing of both on one card is viewed as historically significant by many soccer collectors.

Given the scarcity of publicly recorded sales for this specific card and parallel, it’s difficult to label $63,440 as definitively high, low, or right on the nose. What we can say based on the market structure is:

The result is consistent with a top-tier ultra-modern soccer grail rather than a mid-tier collectible.
The price sits comfortably in the range where serious player collectors, soccer-focused high-end buyers, and some crossover investors all compete.

In short, this is a strong, market-confirming result rather than a casual outlier sale from a niche platform.

Why collectors care about this card

A few key factors give this card outsized importance relative to its print run:

1. Messi and Ronaldo on a single, premium Chrome card

Messi and Ronaldo define an era. For many hobbyists, their rivalry and overlapping primes are the story of 21st-century soccer.

A dual autograph combining them on a well-known chrome brand checks several boxes:

Era-defining pairing: It’s not a “side character” combination; it’s two generational icons.
Modern chromium stock: Chrome-based sets are widely collected, durable, and visually appealing, which helps long-term desirability.
Recognizable brand family: Topps Chrome is a familiar flagship-style brand to collectors who moved into soccer from baseball and basketball.

2. Ultra-low print run

With only five copies of the Red Refractor parallel produced, the card is scarce on an absolute level, not just a grading level.

In ultra-modern sets, many high-end collectors ignore higher-print inserts and focus instead on:

Serial-numbered parallels
On-card autographs
Key players or iconic pairings

This card scores well on all three fronts.

3. On-card dual autographs

Sticker autos (where players sign sheets of stickers that are later applied to cards) are still widely used, but many collectors prefer on-card signatures for a few reasons:

Clean presentation on the card design
Signatures feel more “connected” to the card
Often perceived as a higher tier within the same product line

On-card duals with two superstars are logistically harder for manufacturers to execute, which tends to keep supply extremely low.

Set and era: 2022-23 Topps Chrome UCC

2022-23 Topps Chrome UEFA Club Competitions (UCC) sits firmly in the ultra-modern era:

Production techniques emphasize refractors and color parallels.
Autographs and low-serial parallels often drive the chase much more than base cards.
Chrome surfaces can grade well but are prone to surface lines and scratches, making high grades on key hits still meaningful.

While the set includes important rookies and young stars, this Messi/Ronaldo dual is more about legacy than prospecting. It’s a card that appeals to:

Long-time soccer collectors who followed their entire careers.
Cross-sport high-end collectors who see Messi and Ronaldo in the same tier as all-time NBA or NFL greats.

Could recent news be influencing interest?

Exact motivations differ from buyer to buyer, but several broad themes can support interest in a card like this:

Late-career milestones and records for both players maintain steady media coverage.
International tournaments and club transitions often re-focus attention on Messi and Ronaldo cards.
A maturing soccer card market with more established collectors and clearer preferences for what constitutes a “core” or “grail” card.

Rather than a sudden spike tied to a single event, this sale looks more like part of an ongoing trend: high-end soccer collectors consolidating into a smaller number of centerpiece cards.

Takeaways for collectors and small sellers

A few practical points you can draw from this sale:

Dual autos of true all-timers are a different lane
Their market behaves more like rare high-end art within the hobby than like typical modern inserts. Supply is extremely thin, and each public sale helps define the range.
Ultra-low serial and strong grading can compound
Even in ultra-modern, the combination of a print run of five and a pop 1 PSA 9 supports premium pricing. When you evaluate other cards, it’s worth looking at both factors together: total print run and graded population.
Comps will often be thin or imperfect at this level
With only a handful of copies and infrequent sales, you may need to compare across:
- Other parallels (e.g., /10, /25, or 1/1 versions)
- Other dual autos of the same players
- Comparable single-player autos from similar brands
Not financial advice, but context
This sale does not guarantee what the next copy will bring, or where the market will go. It does provide data: at least one buyer was willing to pay $63,440 at Goldin in February 2026 for a PSA 9 Red Refractor Messi/Ronaldo dual auto /5.

For many collectors, that’s enough to cement this card as one of the clear high-end reference points for modern soccer.

Final thoughts

The 2022-23 Topps Chrome UCC Chrome Dual Autographs Red Refractor #DA-MR Messi/Ronaldo in PSA 9 is a textbook example of what happens when:

Iconic players
A premium chromium platform
On-card dual signatures
And ultra-low print runs

all converge in a single card.

The $63,440 sale at Goldin on 2026-02-08 doesn’t rewrite the rules of the hobby, but it does underline a trend: for the very best modern soccer cards, especially those featuring era-defining legends on the same piece of cardboard, the market is willing to pay for true scarcity and strong condition.

For collectors, it’s another data point – and, for at least one person out there, a centerpiece that just became the flagship of their Messi, Ronaldo, or all-time soccer collection.