Icons Press Release: July 2, 2012

UK Football Fans Fall In Love With Leo Messi

Signed Leo Messi products from Icons.com outselling the rest by 4 to 1

FORMER Manchester United Merchandising Director, Edward Freedman, says sales figures for Icons.com’s Leo Messi signed memorabilia prove the Argentinian maestro is now the UK’s best-loved player.

Freedman chairs Icons.com - the most trusted football memorabilia supplier in the game, providing sought-after signed shirts, photos and other products to fans and gift buyers throughout the world.

The former Managing Director of Tottenham Hotspur, hailed by The Economist as “football’s merchandising guru”, says Messi memorabilia now outsells Ronaldo, the next best selling player, by a factor of 4 to 1 and leaves Rooney and Gerrard trailing in his wake.

The Icons Chairman said:

“UK football fans love Spanish football and Messi in particular. He’s the neutral’s favourite with most football lovers now agreeing he is the best in the world, if not the best ever. The UK public has fallen in love with him.”

“Everyone wants to be close to greatness and by owning a signed Messi shirt then you’ve got the world’s very best. When Icons.com says ‘signed by the world’s best’, we mean it.”

Icons also sell its memorabilia in Harrods where the Argentinian legend outsells otherplayers by 5 to 1. Icons.com now sell his shirts to 78 countries around the world.

The company stocks ten Messi products including a signed and framed Barcelona 2011/12 home shirt; a dual signed Barcelona 2011/12 home shirt with Andrés Iniesta; a signed Adidas boot and a selection of signed iconic photographs of the great man in action.

Messi’s range of signed memorabilia outsold Icons range of other products - signed by the likes of Kaka, Robin Van Persie, Luis Saurez, Andres Iniesta and even Diego Maradona - by the bucket load between April 2011 and April 2012.

Freedman added:

“Does this mean UK football fans are getting less tribal and more sophisticated? That remains to be seen. But it does show how strong the Barcelona and Messi brands have become. They are setting new standards for the game and, in turn, reinventing the football memorabilia market.”

You can view and buy Icons’ range of signed products at www.icons.com.

For more information on this product, or Icons.com, or for interviews with Edward Freedman, please contact Ben Lee on blee@hardhat.co.uk or 07961 820 579.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. Sales figures through Icons.com from April 2011 and April 2012:

Player - Team / Nation = Units sold

Leo Messi - Barcelona, Argentina = 2021

Cristiano Ronald - Real Madrid, Portugal = 496

Robin Van Persie - Arsenal, Holland = 481

Kaka - AC Milan, Brazil = 477

Luis Suarez - Liverpool, Uruguay = 409

Andrés Iniesta - Barcelona, Spain = 386

Steven Gerrard - Liverpool, England = 365

Wayne Rooney - Man Utd, England = 274

Diego Maradona - Argentina = 261

Fernando Torres - Chelsea, Spain = 254

2. Icons has been in business since 1999. Icons is one of the oldest memorabilia operators in the country, if not the world.
3. Edward Freedman has over 40 years experience in the retail industry and in the late 80s was Managing Director of Tottenham Hotspur. He then moved to Manchester United and became Managing Director ofManchester United Merchandising from 1992 onwards. Over the next six years he transformed the commercial side of the club's operation and built Manchester United into the biggest brand in world football. He was also a key player in the formation of the Premier League and was hailed by The Economist as "football's merchandising guru".
4. Icons.com are an international brand and supply to well over 70 countries each year and haverepresentatives in North America and regularly supply customers in Japan, Australia and the Middle East.
5. Icons.com employs the highest standards in the signed football merchandise industry to assure customers of the authenticity of its products. At each event, photographs document each signature and Icons creates a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) for each item including the date and venue and a picture of the product and the signing image. Each product carries a uniquely coded Icons hologram whose identical twin is added to the COA which is signed by the Icons Managing Director.
6. Icons were awarded the world's first ever signed football memorabilia license by FIFA in 2010. This summer Icons has been awarded the first ever official license for the UEFA Champions League.
7. Icons have partnered with Sky Sports’ Revista De La Liga programme for years now. They are also now the official partner of the Abu Dhabi Media Company who own the rights to the Premier League throughout the Middle East.
8. Icons also run regular promotions with the likes of Sky Sports, The Blizzard, 442 and GuillemBalague.com.
9. A Spanish version of the Icons website is available for Spanish fans.
ENDS

For Barcelona and Argentina's Leo Messi, life at the pinnacle of his profession is becoming routine. Winner of the Ballon d'Or for the third year in a row, there is no questioning his status as the world's best player. The 24-year-old has signed exclusively for Icons since 2006, and our relationship has gone from strength to strength ever since. The world's best player and the home of signed football memorabilia. It makes for a dream partnership.

We first met with Leo Messi as an 18-year-old on May 5^th, 2006. The little Argentinian made his debut for both Barcelona and his country the previous season, but had made fewer than 30 first-team appearances in total. It was still more than enough to convince us he had a huge future. Below is a photo of Leo at that first ever signing in Barcelona. Since that day we have conducted six more exclusive signing sessions together. (We have also improved our photography skills considerably!)

Messi's footballing brilliance is not easy to put into words, suffice to say he is beyond hyperbole. A devastating combination of breathtaking speed and power, close control, and extraordinary technical ability lands him in a league of his own. For all his talent, even the outstanding Cristiano Ronaldo cannot get close. So inevitable was Messi's Ballon d'Or triumph that the Portuguese didn't even bother to attend at the ceremony in Zurich.

Messi's hat-trick of Ballon d'Or awards coincides with three consecutive La Liga wins for Barcelona. It's no coincidence. Since the beginning of the 2008/09 season, Messi has fired a remarkable 169 goals in 187 Barcelona appearances, with dozens of assists to boot. Never before has a player dominated world football quite like this at the tender age of 24. He has become only the fourth player to win the Ballon d'Or three times, alongside legends Marco van Basten, Michel Platini and Johan Cruyff. Messi will eclipse them all.

Along with dozens of individual accolades, Messi has accumulated five La Liga titles, three Champions League wins and a Copa del Rey. Indeed, the only piece of silverware missing from his sparkling CV is a World Cup with Argentina. At 24, however, he has time on his side. He will get further chances to emulate the feats of Pele and Diego Maradona at international level. In terms of pure ability though, he is more than a match for the pair of them already.

"Off the pitch I am just normal," said Messi in Zurich. And he's right. Humble, unassuming and polite, he is a pleasure to work with. On the pitch, however, he is unlike any footballer the world has ever seen.

Our most recent meeting with Leo came on December 5th of last year, just over a month ago (pictured below). You can view our fantastic range of personally signed Messi products - including home and away shirts, boots and photos - here.

Follow Icons on Twitter and Facebook for news on our signings, and a chance to win amazing signed football memorabilia!

Having just completed our sixth signing session with Leo Messi, the Argentinean was an obvious choice for this week's Forward Friday. Messi signs exclusively with Icons, and you can check out his amazing new range here.

"I've run out of adjectives to describe him," confessed Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola back in March 2010. Indeed, the brilliance of Leo Messi is not easy to put into words. With every season that passes, the best player of his generation strengthens claims that he is the best of all-time, and the eulogies that cascade his way are wholly justified.

Messi is beyond hyperbole. Combining sensational speed and close control with phenomenal balance and power, he is an utterly devastating force. His technical prowess is almost superhuman. The ball can appear glued to his feet as he glides effortlessly past defenders, and when he's not smashing the ball into the net, he's expertly carving out chances for his teammates to do it for him.

FIFA Ballon d'Or winner in 2010, Messi, 24, has already helped Barcelona to five La Liga titles and three Champions League wins, including a double last season. Since he was handed the departing Ronaldinho's iconic number 10 shirt at the start of the 2008/09 season, Messi has scored an incredible 141 goals in 161 games. During that time Barcelona have claimed a hat-trick of La Liga titles.

Messi was born in the Argentinian city of Rosario on 24^th June 1987 to a factory steel worker and a part-time cleaner. His life-changing move to Barcelona came in 2000 at the age of 13. Astonished by the level of ability he demonstrated on trial in Catalonia, Barcelona's sporting director Carles Rexach hurriedly scribbled out a contract on a napkin and - several signatures later - Messi was enrolled at Barcelona's renowned La Masia youth academy.

His first-team breakthrough came under Frank Rijkaard. Having already featured in friendlies as a 16-year-old, Messi made his league debut on 16 October 2004 against RCD Espanyol. At 17 years and 114 days he became the youngest player ever to appear in a La Liga match.

It didn't take him long to break into the Argentina set up either. At the 2005 under-20 World Cup the explosive Messi fired six goals and was named the winner of the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe as Argentina emerged triumphant. That August, Argentina manager José Pékerman handed the young prodigy his senior debut in a friendly against Hungary, but within a minute of coming on as a substitute in the 63^rd minute, Messi swung an arm at a defender tugging his shirt and was sent off. It was an acrimonious start to an international career that has yet to scale the great heights he is accustomed to at club level, but at 24, Messi has time on his side.

Picking out highlights from a career bursting with glorious moments is not easy, but amid comparisons to the great Diego Maradona, April 2007 seems a good time to start. Up against Getafe in the semi-final of the Copa del Rey, Messi picked up the ball just inside his own half, and with his mop of long hair streaming behind him, he produced a carbon copy of Maradona's legendary solo goal against England at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. A few weeks later he even reproduced Maradona's infamous 'hand of God' moment when his blatant handball past Espanyol goalkeeper Carlos Kameni was allowed to stand.

"He is my Maradona", says Diego of his heir apparent. But the 'new Maradona' looks destined to overtake his idol.

Icons have been conducting exclusive signing sessions with Leo Messi since 2006. The season before Leo had made his debut for Barcelona and at the end of the 05/06 season he was part of the Champions League winning Barcelona squad, but didn't actually play in the Final against Arsenal. Here's a photo from our first signing with Leo, as you can see we've improved our photography skills over the years!

Icons have now done five signings with Leo and seen his meteoric rise to become widely acknowledged as the best player in the world. Here are some of the signing photos from the various sessions we've had with him.

Barcelona April 2008

Barcelona April 2009

Barcelona September 2009

Leo was a little busy in 2010 playing in the World Cup and scoring 47 goals for Barcelona so we were delighted to meet up with him again in May 2011. Amazingly Leo was able to fit a signing session in with Icons in the week leading up to the Champions League Final at Wembley. Despite the chaos caused by the ash cloud we pulled off the signing with the world's number one player, just before he reminded everyone of his talents in the final.

Such is the popularity of Leo we sold out of his signed Barcelona shirts in 17 days. Another record broken by Leo. This is on the back of winning his third Champions League, his fifth La Liga title and becoming the first man to top score in the three consecutive Champions League seasons.

At the end of the 2011 season he had scored 53 goals in only 55 games and seems destined to be crowned World Player of the Year for the third time this December. What a player and what an icon.

Sign up to the icons newsletter to be the first to hear of future signings with Leo. He only signs for us and we know he values the faith Icons had in his talents back in 2006. Long may this successful relationship continue.

And so we're almost there...  The Greatest Show On Earth is just days away.  For the next month all that exists is the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.  Lifetime memories will be made, dreams will come true and icons will rise to become legends.  But who will be remembered as the stars of 2010?

The chances are it will be a player who has signed with Icons.com in the last year. Click on the incredible list of players set to star in this summer's tournament below, and also legends of past World Cups.

World Cup 2010 Stars

• Frank Lampard
• John Terry
• Kaka
• Lionel Messi
• Cesc Fabregas
• Xabi Alonso
• Cristiano Ronaldo
• Iker Casillas
• Wayne Rooney
• Fernando Torres
• Sergio Aguero
• Jamie Carragher
• Deco
• Steven Gerrard
• Shunsuke Nakamura
• Pepe Reina

World Cup Legends

• Pele
• Diego Maradona
• Gary Lineker
• Paul Gascoigne
• England 1966 Team
• Sir Geoff Hurst
• Bryan Robson

Whoever makes the move from the first list to the second this summer, and whatever happens over the next month, you can guarantee that you'll never forget it.

Four out of five isn't bad... Just Xavi left to sign for icons from the FIFA World Player of the Year top 5. Xavi, if you're reading - 0207 267 0151...

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi won the European Footballer of the Year award yesterday topping a poll of journalists from across the world. In a stellar year the little Argentinian won La Liga, El Copa del Rey and the Champions League and helped his national team qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Below is a special commemorative signed 'Campeones 2009' shirt we asked him to do for us at the last signing session we had with him in September.

He won the poll by 240 votes from his nearest challenger Cristiano Ronaldo, another of icons.com star signings. Bareclona and Real Madrid players dominate the poll as the top seven players all played for the Spanish clubs in this calendar year. Steven Gerrard was 10th, Fernando Torres 11th and Cesc Fabregas came in 12th.

For the full list click here

Cristiano Ronaldosigned Real Madrid shirts must be the most sought after piece of football memorabilia in the world. Icons.com have done numerous signings with Cristiano in the past so we were really excited to meet up with him in Madrid this weekend and have him sign Real Madrid home and away shirts, a selection of action photos, two differnt colours of his famous Nike Vapour boots and some Portugal shirts.

Ronaldo only signs for icons.com and we've worked with the current FIFA World Player of the Year for over five years now, going back to when he was establishing himself in the Manchester United team. The full range of Real Madrid products will be on the site tomorrow, but we still have a small amount of shirts and photos left from his last signing with us in February this year where he signed a number of Manchester United products for us.

He was looking fit and well and we hope he'll be back in the Real Madrid line up in time for 'El Clasico', the game everyone in world football is looking forward too this weekend when the Champions League winners Barcelona take on Real Madrid's new generation of Galacticos. Who will come out on top in the contest between Cristiano and Lionel Messi, hotly tipped to supplant Ronaldo as officially the best player in world football when the FIFA award is announced in early December?

We're just happy to have both amazing players available on the icons.com site. We can honestly say our memorabilia is defintely signed by the world's best.

The list of nominees for the Ballon D'Or was announced yesterday with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the way. The Ballon d'Or is awarded to the European footballer of the year, and is voted for by journalists and organised by France Football magazine. The winner will be announced on 1 December.

The full list of nominees is below, featuring as many as nine players featured on the icons.com site.

Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Diego (Juventus), Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg), Samuel Eto'o (Internazionale), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Ryan Giggs (Manchester United), Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux), Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona), Andreas Iniesta (Barcelona), Julio Cesar (Internazionale), Kaka (Real Madrid), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Maicon (Internazionale), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Luis Fabiano (Seville), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), David Villa (Valencia), Xavi (Barcelona), Yaya Toure (Barcelona).

Hopefully, over the coming year we can add big names to the site from this illustrious list and bring you products from as many of the world's best players as possible. Let us know who you would like to see on the site by emailing us at icons.com

Today we've launched icons.com on Flickr, the global photo-sharing website. Icons.com on Flickr

First to go up were our photos from most recent signing session with Lionel Messi. And while we were at it we've also uploaded the photos from the last two signings we've done over the past 18 months with the Barcelona legend.

In total we've done four signings with Leo, but we can't currently locate the pics of the first session we did with him back in May 2006 when he was only 18. Bare with us, we're trying to find them and we'll upload them as soon as we work out where we've put them!

From now on we're going to upload the images from our signings sessions so you can see behind the scenes of what goes on when we meet the players. We have to take lots of photos in order to create our Certificates of Authenticity so we there should be a decent collection once we get them up.

We're also going to go back into our archive and bring out the photos from signing sessions we've done with legendary players who we currently don't sell products for on the site. We've conducted signings sessions in the past with the likes of the Brazilian Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos and Xavi Alonso but as we have sold out of their stuff we don't have them on the current site.

Unfortunately due to some people ripping off our signing photos and product images we've had to add an icons.com watermark to all the photos we upload off our site. Hopefully it doesn't get in the way too much, we just want to protect our images from turning up in unexpected places.