2005/2006 Panini World Club Champion Football Lionel Messi Rookie card, Serialised card - 1 Card - Mint (M)

This card is a historic cult piece in football collecting: it is Lionel Messi #287 from the Panini (World Club Champion Football) European Clubs 2005-2006 collection, released in Japan.

This piece from the 2005-06 season captures the absolute beginnings of the Argentine star with the number 30 at FC Barcelona.

"OFFICIAL ROOKIE CARD"
Rookie Card of Lionel Messi from the 2005-2006 season (Code YGS5), belonging to the Young Stars subseries of the Panini European Clubs collection; As it was a card printed in the early years of Messi's career wearing the FC Barcelona jersey, it has the status of an official Rookie Card (RC).

Her rarity in the West: A cultural clash of collecting. The rarity and mystique of this card in Western markets (Europe and America) lie in its origin and the purpose of its distribution: Exclusive distribution in Asia: These cards were not sold in packs in Western kiosks. They were an interactive component for a Japanese Sega arcade video game that was all the rage in Asian arcade halls. To obtain it, you had to play physically there.

Survival and condition: As they were designed to be placed directly on the touch panels of arcade machines to move the players digitally, the vast majority of these cards in the West are heavily worn, have corners trimmed, or suffered deep scuffs from use. Finding a clean unit in perfect condition like this in Europe is quite a challenge.