Some of Kylian Mbappe’s earliest soccer cards are some of the most popular and expensive in the soccer card hobby.
In my opinion, his best overall rookie card is his 2018 Panini Prizm World Cup card, which has some low-numbered parallels that are considered some of the grails of modern soccer cards; I’ve covered that, and his other top rookie options below.
It’s worth noting that Mbappe doesn’t have any certified autographed cards from his early days, which is a big shame considering he’s so popular among collectors.
Table of Contents
Quick Summary
- True Rookie Card: 2016-17 Panini Foot Ligue 1 #505
- Best Rookie Card: 2018 Panini Prizm World Cup #80
- Best Card Design: 2018 Panini Kaboom #K-KM
Kylian Mbappe Rookie Cards
2016-17 Panini FOOT Ligue 1 Corentin Jean #504/Kylian Mbappe #505
This 2016-17 Panini Foot Ligue 1 sticker is Kylian Mbappe’s first release in the hobby, and his true rookie.
The sticker was distributed mainly in Europe, where soccer sticker collecting is popular, so it’s potentially hard to get hold of in America, but it’s generally not rare.
The sticker itself is popular among collectors though – It shows a young Mbappe (alongside one of his then teammates, Corentin Jean) in his Monaco days. It’s not the most exciting design, which is a shame, considering it’s his rookie, but it’s still very much sought after.
Stickers are mostly harder to keep in top condition, when compared to cards, but there’s still a decent amount of PSA 10’s around, and while they do hold a lot of value already, the prices are no way near the likes of a Cristiano Ronaldo rookie card.
Back in 2021, a PSA 10 graded copy of this one sold for $24k; I think the significance of it being Mbappe’s true rookie helps make it one of his top rookie card options, and one of the most expensive.
2017-18 Select Field Level Kylian Mbappe #224
A few different Kylian Mbappe cards were released during the 2017-18 season, but the Select card was the first, and it offers collectors the first cardboard stock Mbappe card.
By the time of release, Mbappe had already made his record-breaking transfer from Monaco to PSG, and this card shows him in a PSG jersey in action with the ball.
Panini Select is known for having multiple levels of tiered base cards, with varying rarity; The 2017-18 set had Terrace base cards, Mezzanine base cards, and Field Level base cards – All with different designs.
Kylian Mbappe doesn’t have a Terrace or Mezzanine base card, only the Field Level, which happens to be the rarest.
The base card isn’t super high value, but there are multiple low-numbered parallel versions, which are among his most expensive rookie cards, including a 1-of-1 Black parallel; A copy of the Gold parallel (/10) sold for $74.4k in 2022, graded PSA 9.
2017-18 Select Unlimited Potential Kylian Mbappe #UP-10
In addition to his Field Level base card, the 2017-18 Select set also offers collectors this Unlimited Potential card, which is another one of Mbappe’s best and most expensive early cards.
Unlike the horizontal Field Level base card, this one features a vertical design, which has similarities to his popular 2018 Prizm World Cup rookie.
The base card is expensive itself, but there are also a handful of parallel versions, including a 1-of-1 Black Prizm parallel.
In 2022, a BGS 9 graded copy of the Green Prizm parallel (/5) sold for $30k.
2017-18 Topps Chrome UEFA Champions League Kylian Mbappe #41
Another popular Mbappe card from the 2017-18 season is his Topps Chrome UCL rookie – His first appearance on a Topps card.
UCL Topps Chrome cards are generally popular, and this one is no exception – It’s a very nice card, and it’s another with parallels versions that fetch big money.
The 8 parallel options include a base Refractor version (released 1:3 packs), as well as numbered color Refractors, like the elusive 1-of-1 Superfractor.
In 2022, a copy of the Orange Refractor parallel (/25) sold for $42.6k, graded PSA 10, which makes it one of Mbappe’s most expensive rookie cards ever.
2018 Panini Kaboom Kylian Mbappe #K-KM
Panini Kaboom cards offer something different for collectors, their unique style makes them stand out. In terms of design, this one is my personal favorite Kylian Mbappe rookie.
It was issued in an online-exclusive Panini Rewards multi-sport set. The design features a shiny comic book-style Mbappe in action for PSG.
While the base design displays a silver foil explosion in the background, there are also parallels in Gold (/10) and Green (1/1).
The 2018 Panini Kaboom Mbappe card sells for thousands of dollars in a high grade, and a copy of the Gold parallel sold for $33.6k in 2023, graded BGS 9.5.
2018 Panini Prizm World Cup Kylian Mbappe #80
For me, and many other soccer collectors, this 2018 Panini Prizm card is easily Kylian Mbappe’s best rookie card, and it’s one of his most coveted soccer cards ever released – It’s one of the grails of modern soccer cards.
The Prizm brand is a well-established Panini product, across multiple sports, and it’s popular for the wide array of parallels it usually offers.
While base Prizm cards are usually low-value, because they’re so mass-produced, Mbappe’s base rookie is more expensive than most to buy, and the low-numbered parallels are among the most expensive Mbappe soccer cards ever.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was Kylian Mbappe’s first, which he won with France, and earned the Best Young Player Award, after becoming only the second teenager in history to score 2 goals in a World Cup game, so that adds significance to this card, as well as the popularity of Prizm World Cup cards.
The 22 parallel options include the 1-of-1 Prizms Black parallel; A copy of the Prizms Gold (/10) parallel version sold for $120k in 2023, graded BGS 8.5.
The low-numbered parallels are some of the most valuable soccer cards ever.
What Is Kylian Mbappe’s True Rookie Card?
Kylian Mbappe’s true rookie card is actually a sticker from the 2016-17 Panini Foot Ligue 1 set; He doesn’t have a card or sticker from his rookie season in 2015-16.
What Is The Most Expensive Kylian Mbappe Rookie Card?
The most valuable and expensive Kylian Mbappe rookie card to buy is his 2018 Panini Prizm World Cup card.
The base card sells for multiple hundreds of dollars, in a high grade, and the low-numbered parallels sell for tens of thousands; A copy of the Gold Prizm parallel (/10) has sold for $120k in the past, and it’s one of the most expensive soccer cards of its era;
There is a 1-of-1 Black Prizm parallel versions that exists as well.
Are Kylian Mbappe Rookies A Good Investment?
Kylian Mbappe’s cards already hold a lot of value, but I think they’re a great long term hold – He’s one of the main names in the soccer card hobby because of his rapid rise to become one of the world’s best players at such a young age.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are both coming to the end of their careers and in terms of the next big thing, and while there’s very talented young players like Vinicius Junior and Phil Foden, Mbappe is at the top, along with Erling Haaland.
I did mention earlier that Mbappe’s rookie sticker is no way near the values you see for Ronaldo and Messi rookies, and while that’s likely part something to do with scarcity differences, it’s also because he hasn’t reached their level yet – but there’s no doubting he has a huge career ahead, and there’s room to go for Mbappe’s rookie card values.
Kylian Mbappe: A Background
Former ‘European Golden Boy’ winner, Kylian Mbappe (born in December 1998), burst onto the scene in 2015 for Monaco with some very eye-catching performances.
He’s now established himself as one of soccer’s best players in the world. His explosive pace, brilliant goal-scoring numbers and skillful style of play makes him very exciting to watch.
Mbappe’s rookie season came in the 2015-16 season for Monaco in the French Ligue 1, at just the age of 16. His early success at Monaco earned him a transfer to French giants Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, for a fee of around €180 million – making him the second most expensive soccer player ever, and the most expensive teenager ever at the time.
He’s also the main player in the French national team which has seen great success in recent times. Mabppe was part of the team that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and his goals in vital games during that tournament played a big part in them becoming world champions.
At 19, he became only the second teenager to score two goals in a World Cup match, after Pelé, and also won the FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award after that 2018 success.
Many soccer fans believe Mbappe is the successor to Cristiano Ronaldo (Mbappe’s idol) and Lionel Messi as a future Ballon d’Or winner (World Soccer Player Of The Year) – an award that’s been dominated by those 2 players in recent times.
Price data based on Market Movers previous public sales database.
