While it seems absurd now, there was a time where Lionel Messi most likely would not have been included in the 2018 Panini Prizm World Cup set. The Argentinean legend missed his penalty in a shootout loss to Chile in the 2016 Copa America final – the fourth major international trophy of his career to slip through his fingers at the final hurdle. Afterwards, a dejected Messi announced his retirement from the national team. But luckily for soccer fans and collectors, Messi changed his mind, helping Argentina qualify for the 2018 tournament. And though his side endured a disappointing Round of 16 exit at the hands of France that year, Messi finally captured the elusive World Cup title that had been missing from his personal trophy cabinet in 2022.
Messi leads off the 300-card 2018 Panini Prizm World Cup checklist. There are 22 parallel versions of these cards. Of those, only /5 Blue Shimmer, /5 Gold Power and 1/1 Black have lower print runs than this stunning /10 Gold Prizms.
No copy in the BGS registry has a higher grade than this Gem Mint 9.5. Subgrades include 10s for Edges and Corners, and 9.5 for Centering.
The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 12/05/2025.
