Soccer star Antoine Griezmann briefly left the pitch after a La Liga match to exchange his match-worn shirt for some rare Pokemon TCG boxes with fans in the crowd.
Griezmann, who plays for Atletico Madrid and was sporting a puffer jacket after the match, jogged over to the stands to greet fans.
The forward and attacking midfielder handed over his match shirt in exchange for two Prismatic Evolutions Elite Trainer Boxes before departing to rejoin his teammates.
Cloth for cardboard
In addition to his sporting success, Griezmann is known for his love of sports cards, regularly sharing collection updates on X/Twitter. As it turns out, his hobby extends to The Pokemon Trading Card Game; Prismatic Evolutions being the latest expansion, released on January 17.
The high-profile trade comes amid a troubling period for the Pokemon TCG.
While Griezmann managed to secure himself some Pokemon products to keep sealed or crack open, worldwide stock shortages and widespread scalping have made the set incredibly difficult for others in the hobby to get hold of.
Numerous reports of independent retailers across the US placing extreme restrictions on Prismatic Evolutions’ sale or refusing to stock the set entirely out of safety concerns became commonplace, the latter of which wasn’t unfounded.
On January 17, numerous videos showing Costco customers getting into physical altercations over Pokemon 151 Blooming Waters gift boxes went viral online.
With pre-orders for 2025’s first major Pokemon TCG expansion, Journey Together, selling out within minutes, Griezmann may find himself having to trade away more of his sports memorabilia to secure the coveted collectibles.
The La Liga 2024-2025 season runs until May 25. As of February 8, Atletico Madrid sits second in the standings behind Real Madrid, with a single point between them.