Premier League players are taking their passion for the sport to the next level by collecting football cards. In their downtime away from playing and training, big names such as Declan Rice, Dominic Solanke and Tosin Adarabioyo have been seen either opening or promoting cards or collectibles. Many footballers even run their own separate trading card Instagram accounts.
Wharton sells collection to YouTuber
One of them is Crystal Palace and England midfielder Adam Wharton, who recently sold his Topps card collection for over £2,000 to YouTuber Jack White. Jack, 26, who runs the GBW account and is from Kent, has been collecting stickers or cards for the last 20 years and now has over 200,000 YouTube subscribers and over 100,000 followers on TikTok.
He said: "I started collecting while in primary school aged 5/6 and then that progressed into Match Attax from the very first collection. I started filming myself open packs when I was 12 while at secondary school, so been going ever since."
Favourite and most valuable cards
When asked which of his prized cards is his favourite, Jack said: "My most valuable would be the 1/1 autographed Clive Tyldesley from Topps UCC Decades 90s Edition which came out in 2025. But my favourite is the Messi Argentina 100 club 101 card which graded a PSA 8 and is one for the collection forever. It's topical too now with his recent retirement."
Jack is not only a massive collector but also one of the UK's top content creators for card collectibles. He was keen to offer football-mad youngsters tips on getting into the profession. He said: "My best advice would be to block out the outside noise. Because when I started I had people telling me to stop because cards were deemed 'not cool' back then."
"Focus on showing off your passion and an audience will follow. People watch and like GBW because of the longevity perhaps, I've got a good personality on camera which I think shines through, not sure! That's one for my audience to tell me. But this hobby is massive now because of the likes of Match Attax and now new hobby sets with big names starting to collect like the sidemen."
Industry perspective and growth
Benjamin Hobart, the Managing Director of SideCards, said: "Over the past few years, we've seen more and more footballers publicly show their interest in collecting. Players like Eden Hazard have been very open about collecting with their children, while Declan Rice has filmed pack-opening videos with members of the Sidemen. Then you have the next generation coming through, with players like JJ Gabriel joining us for a break to celebrate the launch of his first-ever set, Topps Flagship, earlier this year."
"At SideCards, we have personally been lucky to break products with some of the biggest names in the sporting world and, more often than not, once they start ripping packs, it's pretty hard to get them to stop! They get exactly the same buzz we all do from opening a product and hunting for the big chase cards, especially when they're actually in the set themselves."
Lewis Hamilton has recently ventured into the hobby in a commercial capacity, opening his first store in Frankfurt, Germany. Benjamin added: "While seeing players embrace the hobby so publicly still feels relatively new in the UK, the relationship between professional athletes and collectables is already far more established in the US. It feels like athletes in the UK are now starting to follow the same path, with the players themselves becoming collectors, fans of the hobby and, ultimately, an important part of its continued growth."
Match Attax, the UK's original football trading card game, turns 20 this year. Created to celebrate two decades of collecting, swapping and playing, the 20th Anniversary Edition brings a host of serious upgrades for the 2026/27 season. The biggest change comes with an all-new rarity system, with new symbols helping collectors identify cards from Rare, Super-Rare, Mega-Rare, Ultra-Rare, Hyper-Rare through to the ultimate Mystical full-art cards.
