Meet football fan with £100k collection including Lionel Messi shirt
An avid football fan has valued his personal collection of signed shirts and memorabilia from some of the sport’s biggest stars at over £100,000, including some record-breaking boots. Martyn Hobbs, 37 from Bournemouth, turned his hobby into a business after personally getting his hands on some “priceless” keepsakes.
And he has opened up on his special football memorabilia, including some that could go for eye-watering sums of money.
“I have a signed Lionel Messi Barcelona shirt which is currently valued around £1,700 and it keeps rising in value,” said Hobbs. “I also have a match worn and signed pair of football boots from Declan Rice’s debut season at West Ham which are already worth over £1,000.
“Also, I have Jermaine Defoe’s match worn boots from his record-breaking season at AFC Bournemouth where he scored in an amazing 10 consecutive league games so they’re priceless and a real collectors item. My whole personal collection of around 25 items is worth over £100,000.”
Explaining the decision behind setting up Hobbs Memorabilia in 2022, the West Ham season ticket holder wanted to eliminate “dishonest operators” from the market.
He said: “I set up my business during lockdown because there are a large number of counterfeit and dishonest operators in the memorabilia sector and I saw an opportunity to work with my contacts to be quite the opposite and set a new standard.
“After working in hospitality and events for over 10 years, I have a background of looking after sporting stars and celebrity VIPs. I also decided to integrate bespoke and luxury framing of the desired items with a well-established local company to create the best keepsakes for sports fans to own.
It was during his hospitality days where Hobbs first starting rubbing shoulders with big-name Premier League stars such as Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings and West Ham striker Danny Ings.
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“When Eddie Howe was Bournemouth manager, he requested hospitality at a venue I was promoting to celebrate promotion to the Premier League,” he continued. “I was honoured to be involved and happily ensured Eddie and the squad were looked after and enjoyed their evening with us.
“I’ve also attended some fantastic and memorable events with Premier League footballers like Tyrone Mings, Mario Lemina and Danny Ings”
More recently, Hobbs Memorabilia has announced an exclusive signing event with West Ham’s Brazilian playmaker Lucas Paqueta just months after a similar one with UEFA Europa Conference League final match-winner Jarrod Bowen.
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For those looking for a premium keepsake, Hobbs Memorabilia are also offering Inter Miami shirts with a dedicated message from Lionel Messi himself, although these rare products will set you back £7,000.
“In my opinion, all the Premier League footballers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and engaging with are humble, friendly and down-to-earth. I will always remember how supportive and encouraging they have been in helping my business get off the ground.
“Authenticity and credibility is key. I always provide photo proof with my products where possible and I’ll only ever work with the very best operators in the space. When dealing with global superstars like Lionel Messi, products will always come with official, licenced certificates”
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