Riccardo Calafiori has gone from promising youth prospect to one of the most interesting young defenders in Europe — and collectors are only just starting to pay attention.
The crazy part?
- 1,402 total numbered rookies
- Only ONE confirmed 1/1
For a player who looks like he’s just getting started, that’s incredibly low.
Merlin — #72
This is Calafiori’s primary rookie — and the entire chase is inside this one product.
Numbered Parallels
- Purple Refractor /299
- Atomic Refractor /250
- Aqua Refractor /199
- Speckle Refractor /150
- Green Refractor /99
- Green Mojo Refractor /99
- Blue Refractor /75
- Blue Shimmer Refractor /75
- Gold Refractor /50
- Gold Atomic Refractor /50
- Orange Refractor /25
- Black Refractor /15
- Red Refractor /10
- Red Wave Refractor /5
- SuperFractor 1/1
TOTAL NUMBERED: 1,402
one product… simple checklist… true scarcity.
And when the only 1/1 eventually shows up, it instantly becomes the centerpiece card for his entire market.
Why this matters long-term?
Defenders usually don’t explode in value — until they do.
And when they do, the rookies that hold value are:
- simple
- traceable
- low-print
- tied to recognizable sets (like Merlin)
Calafiori checks every single box.
If he keeps developing — especially at a big club — his rookie market has room to move simply because there isn’t much of it.
