How Messi and Ronaldo are impacting the classic football shirt boom

The sale and collection of vintage football shirts has become big business in recent years.

Lovers of the beautiful game spend a lot of money to acquire jerseys that evoke memories of days gone by.

But how will the fast-growing industry evolve in the future?

John Blair, a vintage shirt collector and author of the brilliant new book A Culture of Kits: The Definitive Guide to Classic Football Shirt Collecting, believes the goalposts are moving and focus could switch more to match-worn memorabilia.

He told LiveScore: "I think the definition of what's a classic shirt will evolve.

"My view is that a classic shirt is driven by people's memories of a moment.

"So what could happen is the people who are becoming more prominent in society will determine the definition based on their childhood memories.

"I don't think we're far away from the early-2000s kits, maybe even the Total 90 designs, becoming more desirable.

"And the other part that is really growing in the industry is match-worn memorabilia.

"Historically, collectors did not have access to those items unless they knew someone at the club.

"But now there are auction sites running live during games where you can bid on a certain player's shirt and win it.

"So I think that's where the industry will go more towards."

Messi and Ronaldo

Two players who could have a significant impact in the match-worn arena are Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the two most famous footballers on the planet.

While Blair was quick to acknowledge the superstar pair have not had too much of a bearing on the vintage shirt market, their global appeal is key to fans' desire to acquire memorabilia.

He added: "There's a lot of appetite for Messi and Ronaldo match-worn shirts and the prices of those are already starting to inflate.

"In terms of current sales and match-worn, they are both massive.

"But the impact on classics they're having is slightly different.

"It's a little bit more cautious because for things to become desirable and increase in value, there's the supply and demand side.

"If you think of the supply, there are millions of Messi and Ronaldo shirts.

"And so if there are millions of something, it's hard to justify a price increase.

"I'm not saying it won't happen but I just don't think their shirts will be as big as some of the shirts from the 1980s and 1990s, which were produced in much lower quantities."

Global game

Like Messi and Ronaldo, the vintage football shirt business has helped globalise the game and attract new fans.

Blair explained: "Fashion in football has always been a bit of a blurred line but it feels like the two have really merged in the last two to three years.

"You see celebrities wearing vintage shirts.

"Last Halloween, you had Edward Norton and Dwayne Johnson rocking up dressed as David Beckham in vintage Manchester United shirts.

"Kim Kardashian went to the gym in a Roma shirt from 1995.

"So there's definitely more appreciation for the vintage kit and the cool design aspect that comes with European jerseys.

"Asia as well is a big factor. The Premier League is huge there so a lot of jerseys get sold — and there are a lot of collectors in that space really driving up demand."

A Culture of Kits: The Definitive Guide to Classic Football Shirt Collecting is available now via Pitch Publishing.