Topps Merlin Cards: What They Are and What They're Worth
Merlin is the name a generation of British collectors knows from Premier League sticker albums, and Topps has brought it back as a chromium card brand: Topps Merlin UEFA Club Competitions since 2020-21, and Merlin Premier League from 2026. The cards borrow 1990s sticker designs but carry modern refractors, serial-numbered parallels and autographs. Most sell for a few dollars; the autographs and low-numbered parallels are where the money is. Here's what's in the current sets, the rookies, real sold prices and how to value yours from a photo.
What is Topps Merlin?
Merlin Publishing was formed in 1989, won the rights to English top-flight stickers and launched its first Premier League collection for 1993/94, with Ryan Giggs and Paul Merson on the album. It became part of Topps in 1995, and Merlin stickers and its Premier Gold cards were a fixture of 1990s football collecting.
The modern Merlin is a different thing: a chromium card set. Topps revived the brand with 2020-21 Topps Merlin Chrome UEFA Champions League, a 100-card set that reworked the 1996 Merlin design, and it has run every year since as a UEFA Club Competitions set covering the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. Topps' own product team describes the base cards as evoking classic sticker albums. Alongside it ran Merlin Heritage, retro sets named after 1995, 1997 and 1998 designs.
In 2026 Merlin and the Premier League were reunited: after Topps took the Premier League licence back from 2025/26, it released Merlin Premier League 2026 on 11 June 2026.
What's in Merlin Premier League 2026?
A 200-card base set, released on 11 June 2026, in Hobby boxes of 18 packs of four with one autograph per box, and Value boxes of seven packs (£30 RRP in the UK). The numbered parallels run from Pink /250 to a one-of-one SuperFractor, which Topps puts at 1 in 5,712 hobby packs:
| Parallel | Copies of each card |
|---|---|
| Pink | 250 |
| Aqua | 199 |
| Blue | 150 |
| Green | 99 |
| Battle of Britpop (Value boxes only) | 95 |
| Purple | 75 |
| Gold | 50 |
| Orange | 25 |
| Black | 10 |
| Red | 5 |
| SuperFractor | 1 |
Most colours also come as Mojo refractors in hobby boxes, and the Value boxes have their own Raywave and VHS refractors. The nostalgia is the point of the inserts: a 50-card 1996 Merlin Premier League insert (1 in 375 hobby packs), Fantasy Football, Merlin Speaks, Young Magicians and Magic In His Boots.
What's in Topps Merlin UEFA Club Competitions?
The 2024-25 edition, the fifth of the modern run, was released on 19 December 2025 with a 200-card base set. A Hobby box (18 packs of four) has one Chrome autograph, three numbered parallels, refractors, a Vintage Merlin refractor and a 30th-anniversary 1995 album card; a Breaker's Delight box (one pack of 12) has two autographs.
Its parallel ladder is longer than most: Rose Gold /250, Pink /199, Blue /150, Magenta /125, Green /99, Aqua /75, Gold /50, a black-and-white Vintage Merlin /35, Pearl /30, Orange /25, Purple /15, Black /10, Red /5, a Gold Vintage Merlin /3 and the SuperFractor 1/1. The chase inserts include Merlin's Match Ball Signatures, which pair an autograph with match-used pieces, and Renaissance cards.
Which Merlin rookies matter?
Merlin flags first-year players as rookies, the same as Topps Chrome, and some of the biggest names in the hobby have one: Topps lists Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka among its Merlin rookies, and Bellingham's is card 31 in 2020-21 Merlin Chrome.
Merlin Premier League 2026 has around 40 rookies, including Max Dowman (#20), Estêvão (#63), Rio Ngumoha (#111), Divine Mukasa (#126) and Chris Rigg (#163). The 2024-25 UEFA set's include Endrick (#16), Myles Lewis-Skelly (#49), Ethan Nwaneri (#53), Chido Obi (#61), Archie Gray (#65) and Mikey Moore (#147).
What are Topps Merlin cards worth?
Most Merlin cards sell for a few dollars, and the autographs are where the money is. These are eBay sales of Merlin Premier League 2026 cards in September and October 2026, in US dollars as a sold-price tracker records them, plus StockX sales for the box:
| Card | Sold for |
|---|---|
| Base card of a star (Haaland) | US$1.29 to US$3.25 |
| Refractor or Mojo of a star (Haaland, Salah, Saka, Palmer) | US$0.99 to US$7.20 |
| Base rookie card (Max Dowman) | US$4.49 to US$6 |
| Unnumbered rookie refractor (Estêvão, Rio Ngumoha) | US$2.99 to US$20 |
| Numbered /150 to /75 | US$4.50 to US$31 |
| Orange /25 (Salah) | US$50 |
| Red /5 (Salah) | US$255 |
| Rookie autograph (Max Dowman) | US$215 |
| Numbered autographs (/150 to /50) | US$132 to US$820 |
| Sealed Hobby box (StockX) | A$378 to A$430 |
A Max Dowman Gold /50 autograph made US$820, the highest Merlin Premier League sale we found. The 2024-25 UEFA set follows the same pattern: numbered cards of established stars mostly sold for under US$25 (a Saka Orange /25 for US$19 to US$25), while a Lamine Yamal Black /10 made US$338 and a Haaland Gold /50 US$71. A base Merlin card is worth a few dollars; the value is in the autographs, the low numbers and the biggest names.
What is the most valuable Merlin card?
The record is a Merlin card that isn't from a Merlin box. A 2024 Lamine Yamal Merlin Euro Final Goal SuperFractor, a one-of-one with an autograph and a piece of the final's goal net, graded PSA 10, sold for US$300,000 at Fanatics Collect on 19 June 2026; the Red /5 version, graded PSA 8, made US$30,300 the same day. Both are Merlin-branded Euro 2024 cards: the set checklist lists them in 2024 Topps Chrome UEFA Euro, though some auction listings call the card 2024 Topps Merlin UEFA Euro.
From the Merlin sets themselves, a 2023-24 Merlin UCC Renaissance Red Refractor Yamal rookie numbered 2/5, graded PSA 10, sold for US$31,720 at Goldin in June 2026.
Are old 1990s Merlin stickers and cards worth anything?
Some are. Topps itself says vintage Merlin Premier League stickers are still sought after, and names David Beckham's 1996 rookie sticker, Cristiano Ronaldo's 2004 Key Player foil and Wayne Rooney's 2003 Everton rookie sticker among the valuable ones. Most 1990s stickers of ordinary players are worth very little, and condition matters a lot for anything that was stuck in an album.
Merlin albums are named after the year a season ended, so Premier League 94 is the 1993/94 season, while graders usually file them under the year the season began. Match the player, the sticker number and the album year before you compare prices.
How do I check what my Merlin card is worth?
Photograph the front of the card and CardLoft identifies it, including the set, season and parallel, and values it, free. Modern Merlin cards are chromium, so the colour of a refractor shifts under light: shoot straight-on in soft, even light without a flash, with any serial number in focus.
Frequently asked questions
What is Topps Merlin?
Merlin was the 1990s Premier League sticker brand, part of Topps since 1995. Today it is a Topps chromium card brand: Topps Merlin UEFA Club Competitions, every year since 2020-21, and Merlin Premier League, from 2026. The cards borrow retro sticker designs and carry refractors, numbered parallels and autographs.
When was Merlin Premier League 2026 released?
On 11 June 2026. It has a 200-card base set, one autograph per Hobby box, and numbered parallels from Pink /250 to a one-of-one SuperFractor.
What is the most valuable Merlin card?
A 2024 Lamine Yamal Merlin Euro Final Goal SuperFractor autograph, graded PSA 10, sold for US$300,000 in June 2026. It's a Merlin-branded Euro 2024 card, listed in the 2024 Topps Chrome UEFA Euro checklist. From the Merlin sets themselves, a Yamal Renaissance Red /5 rookie sold for US$31,720.
Are old Merlin stickers worth anything?
Most are worth little, but some are sought after: Topps names David Beckham's 1996 rookie sticker, Cristiano Ronaldo's 2004 Key Player foil and Wayne Rooney's 2003 Everton rookie sticker. Condition and the exact album year matter.