Football fans of all ages enjoy purchasing their favourite players’ shirts or photos for personal use, but when those items have been signed, their value can skyrocket. The price of the items, however, can vary significantly depending on the athlete or the item’s rarity.
But which footballer’s signature is the most expensive?
Interested in finding out, LiveRugbyTickets.co.uk scraped and analysed listings for 179 footballers from the past and present to determine which player’s signature could earn fans the most money.
Rank | Footballer | Most expensive item | No. of items | Average signature cost (£) |
1 | George Best | Signed George Best Shirt Framed Manchester United Icon Jersey | 6 | £1,749.99 |
=2 | David Beckham | Signed David Beckham Shirt Framed World Cup 2010 Jersey | 28 | £1,499.99 |
=2 | Zinedine Zidane | Zinedine Zidane Official UEFA Champions League Back Signed and Hero Framed Real Madrid 2002-03 Home Shirt | 11 | £1,499.99 |
3 | Robert Lewandowski | Robert Lewandowski Official UEFA Champions League Back Signed and Hero Framed Bayern Munich 2021-22 Home Shirt | 5 | £1,299.99 |
4 | Lionel Messi | Lionel Messi Official FIFA World Cup Front Official Signed and Hero Framed Argentina 2022-23 | 63 | £1,199.99 |
5 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Signed Cristiano Ronaldo Shirt Framed Champions League Winner 2008 | 171 | £1,049.99 |
6 | Pele | Pele Official FIFA World Cup Back Signed and Framed Brazil 1970 Home Shirt | 9 | £999.99 |
7 | Erling Haaland | Signed Erling Haaland Shirt Framed Manchester City Icon Jersey | 16 | £937.49 |
8 | Eusebio | Eusebio Official FIFA World Cup Front Signed and Framed Retro Portugal Home Shirt | 10 | £774.99 |
9 | Roberto Baggio | Roberto Baggio Official FIFA World Cup Back Signed and Framed Italy 1994 Home Shirt with Vinyl Numbers | 35 | £749.99 |
10 | Ronaldo Nazario | Signed Ronaldo Nazario Shirt Framed World Cup Winner 1994 | 52 | £724.99 |
11 | Virgil van Dijk | Signed Virgil Van Dijk Shirt Framed FA Cup Winner 2022 | 9 | £699.99 |
12 | Kevin De Bruyne | Kevin De Bruyne Official FIFA World Cup Back Signed and Framed Belgium 2020-21 Home Shirt | 12 | £664.99 |
13 | Kaka | Kaka Official FIFA World Cup Signed and Framed Retro Brazil Home Shirt with Fan Style Number | 8 | £649.99 |
14 | Karim Benzema | Karim Benzema Official UEFA Champions League Back Signed and Hero Framed Real Madrid 2021-22 Home Shirt with Fan Style Numbers | 41 | £624.99 |
15 | Christian Pulisic | Christian Pulisic Official FIFA World Cup Back Signed and Framed USMNT 2020-21 Home Shirt | 16 | £612.99 |
For the full dataset please click here.
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LiveRugbyTickets.co.uk can reveal that the footballer with the most expensive signature is George Best, whose signature on average will cost you £1,749.99! Best was widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time and Britain’s first popular football icon due to his celebrity lifestyle off the pitch. A signed George Best framed Manchester United shirt can be sold for as much as £3,499!
In joint second place is David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane with an average signature cost of £1,499.99. The two played for Real Madrid from 2003 to 2006 in the first Galactico era, with Beckham later claiming that Zidane is the best player he has ever played with. After his playing career ended, Zidane went into management, with Real Madrid winning the Champions League three years in a row, whereas Beckham took a more business-like approach, owning his own team Inter Miami CF and having a stake in Salford City. Zidane’s most expensive signed shirt is a 2002/03 Real Madrid Champions League shirt that sells for £1,549, while Beckham’s is a signed England 2010 World Cup shirt that sells for £1,749.
Robert Lewandowski is third with his signature costing £1,299.99 on average. The Polish striker is considered one of the best strikers of all time following successful spells at Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and most recently FC Barcelona. An official UEFA Champions League Bayern Munich 2021-22 shirt signed by Lewandowski can be sold for £1,349.99.
Lionel Messi comes in fourth place, with an average signature price of £1,999.99, just ahead of his fierce rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who rounds out the top five with an average signature cost of £1,049.99. Both players have been at the top of the game for the last 15 years and are now nearing the end of their careers; there is no doubt that once they retire from the game, demand for the pair’s signature will only increase. The most expensive signed shirt by Lionel Messi is the official FIFA World Cup 2022 Argentina shirt, which sells for £2,399.99, while Ronaldo’s is a signed Manchester United 2008 Champions League winners’ shirt, which sells for £2,099.99.
Credit to https://www.liverugbytickets.co.uk/ who provided the above post
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