Messi & Ronaldo: A sports fan like any other in the world has built an empire on his collection of autographs. When he opened the business, Peter Johnson was in a knee-deep debt of £10,000. He went on to collect autographs on jerseys from Cristiano Ronaldo from his time at Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Juventus and Lionel Messi from his time at Barcelona. He established a thriving business by the name of ‘Firma Stella’ by selling them which helped him become a millionaire. Follow Football News on InsideSport.IN.
Firma Stella established by the autograph hunter, Peter Johnson sells memorabilia including signed shirts, artefacts, and pictures from all sports. He now has 17 products related to Cristiano Ronaldo for sale on the Firma Stella website. This includes signed shirts from the player’s time at Juventus, Real Madrid, and both his first and second stints at Manchester United.
Peter Johnson said, “Instead of a paper round as a teenager, I would chase autographs and collect stuff to sell it. I started travelling around the world to chase stuff. I went to the F1 in Asia, the Rugby World Cup in Japan, Manchester City pre-season tours. Then I decided, ‘Let’s make this an empire’. I was in £10,000 debt… Now I’m a millionaire. All with four and a half years’ work.”
The price range of these products can reach up to £5,000. A Ronaldo-signed shirt from his second time at Manchester United and a Messi-signed shirt from his time at Barcelona are both priced on the website at £2,499.99 each. Other than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, he has also met and collected autographs from Mohamed Salah, Kevin de Bruyne, the late Diego Maradona, and more.
Over the years, he has adapted some impulsive ways to collect autographs. About how he collected Messi’s autograph, he said, “With Messi, I had to take a big risk. I booked a ‘fake flight’ from Barcelona just to get into the terminal. All of a sudden, the team just walked through security – Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez… they signed all our stuff.”
Spotted 📸
Firma Stella Sports Memorabilia CEO & Founder Peter Johnson met Owen Farrell the other day.
Farrell memorabilia alongside all signed rugby memorabilia is 50% off with the Firma Stella winter sale, available at: https://t.co/timuetdNCB pic.twitter.com/4zuDMBlndT
— The Rugby Paper (@TheRugbyPaper) January 18, 2023
A particular shirt with the autographs from all three former Barcelona stars, probably from this visit can still be found on sale on the website priced at £7,999.99. His meet with Cristiano Ronaldo when the striker was playing for Manchester United was even weirder. However, he has gained multiple products over the years from his meetings with the striker.
About his meeting with Ronaldo, he said, “Real Madrid were playing Manchester United and I found out about Ronaldo’s flight. I followed their bus from the airport to a hotel and quickly booked a room. I knew they were staying on the top floor and their team room was on the second floor.”
He added, “I saw the lift was on the top floor so I waited for it to come down. No joke, the first lift that opened… imagine it, Ronaldo is just standing there! So I jumped in and he was like, ‘What the hell?’. He signed some stuff and we went from there.”
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