1979 Panini Calciatori Diego Maradona #312 RC

A sticker for an album

Brothers Giuseppe and Benito Panini founded their company in Modena in 1961, selling packets of figurines that children glued into albums. They sold 15 million packets in their first year and 29 million the next. In the early 1970s Panini switched to self-adhesive stickers, and in 1970 it published its first World Cup album.

Panini's Calciatori ('footballers') album for the 1979-80 Italian season included sticker #312, a teenage Argentine in his national team jersey against a blue background. It was Maradona's first appearance in a Panini album, issued years before he played in Italy.

The sticker was meant to be used. The back told collectors where to find the album and how to order one by mail, and children peeled the stickers and pressed them into the pages. That is why unpeeled copies in high grade are so scarce.

El Pibe de Oro

Diego Armando Maradona was born on October 30, 1960, in Lanús, outside Buenos Aires, and grew up in the shantytown of Villa Fiorito. He debuted for Argentinos Juniors on October 20, 1976, ten days before his 16th birthday, the youngest player in the history of the Argentine first division. Four months later, on February 27, 1977, he played his first match for Argentina, against Hungary, at 16.

1979, the year of this sticker, was his breakout. He was the top scorer in both the Metropolitano and Nacional tournaments in Argentina, and in Japan he led Argentina to the FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring six goals in six matches and winning the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. He scored 115 goals in 167 appearances for Argentinos Juniors before leaving in 1981.

He moved to Boca Juniors in 1981, to Barcelona in 1982 for a world record £5 million, and to Napoli in 1984 for another world record, £6.9 million. In Naples he led the club to Serie A titles in 1986-87 and 1989-90.

At the 1986 World Cup he captained Argentina to the title and won the Golden Ball. In the quarterfinal against England he scored both the 'Hand of God' goal and the solo run later called the Goal of the Century in a 2-1 win. He finished with 34 goals in 91 games for Argentina and died on November 25, 2020, at 60.

Why grades run low

Because these stickers were designed for children and most went into albums, examples that were never peeled are hard to find, and high-grade ones are rarer still. PSA's report on October 3, 2026, showed one PSA 10, 16 PSA 9s and 58 PSA 8s. Most graded copies sit in the middle and lower grades, with 79 at PSA 6, 61 at PSA 5 and 63 at PSA 4.

A PSA 8 is near the top of what survives: only 19 graded copies rank higher. The sticker shows Maradona with a blue background and the number 312.

A record, then a reset

In April 2021 the only PSA 10 sold at auction for $555,960, which broke the previous record for a soccer card by a wide margin. The rest of the market rose with it. PSA 8 copies sold at online auction for $4,350 in August 2021 and $6,765 at auction in October 2021, and a PSA 8 reached $8,400 at auction on April 11, 2022.

Then prices cooled. Two PSA 8s sold at auction for $3,000 each on December 4, 2022, in a World Cup-themed auction, and another sold for $3,700 later that month. On August 12, 2025, a PSA 8 sold at online auction for $2,800, about a third of the 2022 high.

One grade up, a PSA 9 sold at auction for $10,800 with buyer's premium on February 22, 2024, after 25 bids. PSA's records list the most recent PSA 9 sale at $17,000.

Soccer's other cornerstone

Along with Pelé's 1958 Swedish card, Maradona's 1979 sticker anchors the vintage end of soccer collecting. When its PSA 10 sold in April 2021 it set the soccer card record; a Pelé PSA 9 passed it at $900,000 in November 2021, and another Pelé became the first soccer card over $1 million in 2022.

Unlike the Pelé, the Maradona is within reach in mid grades: PSA's records show recent PSA 5 and PSA 6 copies selling for $510 and $790.

The numbers

1979 FIFA World Youth Championship (Japan)

6 matches, 6 goals; champion and Golden Ball winner. Age 18.

1979 Argentine season

Top scorer of both the Metropolitano and Nacional tournaments, with Argentinos Juniors

Argentinos Juniors (1976-1981)

115 goals in 167 appearances

Argentina (1977-1994)

91 caps, 34 goals; 1986 World Cup winner and Golden Ball

Napoli

Serie A champion 1986-87 and 1989-90

Timeline

1. Oct 30, 1960

   Diego Maradona is born in Lanús, Argentina.

2. 1961

   Giuseppe and Benito Panini found their sticker company in Modena.

3. Oct 20, 1976

   Maradona debuts for Argentinos Juniors, ten days before turning 16.

4. Feb 27, 1977

   He plays his first match for Argentina, against Hungary.

5. 1979

   Maradona wins the World Youth Championship in Japan; Panini's 1979-80 Calciatori album includes him at #312.

6. 1982

   Barcelona signs him for a world record fee.

7. 1984

   Napoli signs him for another world record fee.

8. 1986

   Maradona scores the 'Hand of God' goal and the Goal of the Century against England; Argentina goes on to win the World Cup.

9. Nov 25, 2020

   Maradona dies at 60.

10. Apr 2021

    The only PSA 10 sells at auction for $555,960, a soccer card record at the time.

11. Apr 11, 2022

    A PSA 8 sells at auction for $8,400.

12. Feb 22, 2024

    A PSA 9 sells at auction for $10,800.

13. Aug 12, 2025

    A PSA 8 sells at online auction for $2,800.

The world in 1979

• Feb 1, 1979

  Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Tehran after nearly 15 years in exile.

• Mar 28, 1979

  The Three Mile Island nuclear accident occurs in Pennsylvania.

• May 3, 1979

  Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives win the British election; she becomes the first woman prime minister.

• Jun 18, 1979

  Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT II treaty in Vienna.

• Jul 1, 1979

  The Sony Walkman goes on sale in Japan.

• Dec 24, 1979

  The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.

Price record

A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.

By reference price, 1979 Panini Calciatori Diego Maradona #312 RC is number 88 of 100 in the trading cards entries of the FLOAT 100. 97 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (95 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Maradona appeared in an Italian Panini album five years before he joined Napoli.
• The sticker's back told children how to order the album by mail.
• He debuted as a professional ten days before his 16th birthday.
• PSA has graded only one copy a 10, and it sold for $555,960.
• Panini sold 15 million packets of stickers in its first year, 1961.
• Napoli paid a world record fee for him in 1984, two years after Barcelona had done the same.