Some of the football world’s most famous players have been immortalised in a new range of Lego minifigure sets, including Kylian Mbappé and Vini Jr.
The 2026 World Cup has inspired Lego to get into football in a way it hasn’t for years, with a brick-built version of the iconic trophy and an official football having alreadybeen unveiled.
Both open up to reveal fun little dioramas but Lego has revealed something more extensive, with four sets based on some of the world’s most famous players: Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, and Vini Jr.
Each have been recreated using highly detailed, dual-moulded minifigures but the problem with minifigures is that they’re pretty small and hard to make the centrepiece of a set. But this new style of display has found a way, with unique designs based on each footballer’s background and history.
The sets are completely different for each player, with a base that features colours from their national team and is shaped like the first letter of their name. There’s also the number on their shirt and a collectable plaque with their stats.
Ronaldo’s, for example, features Portugal’s colours and his iconic CR7, as well as Easter eggs about his life and rise to fame in Portugal. By comparison, Mbappé’s set recreates Paris, with a subtle nod to how many times France has won the World Cup.
Messi’s set is built on an M-shaped brick with Argentina’s colours, while Vini Jr. can be put in a goal scoring pose, complete with exaggerated, comic book style effects made out of Lego.
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As well as these four displays there’s also two Football Legends sets that show Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in brick-built form.
The sets can be built one of two ways, for each, player, with instructions to have Ronaldo in his famous Siuuu pose or performing his signature bicycle kick. This slightly larger set also feature a CR7 display and a printed plaque, as well as a new football piece and dual-moulded face.
The one for Messi works the same way, but here the option is his victory pose, pointing at the sky, or a running design that shows him dribbling the ball across the pitch.
Finally, there’s the even bigger Lionel Messi – Celebration set that’s made up of 1,427 pieces and is designed to be 3D wall art, show Messi in his victory pose and filled with references to his life and career.
Metro spoke to Lego designer Luka Grković, who worked on the sets for Ronaldo and Mbappé. ‘I’m from the Lego Editions team, which is what these sets are coming out of, and I’m a huge football fan,’ he said. ‘They actually brought me from another team just to do these sets. So this is like a dream come true for me.’
‘The idea of these is to make the ultimate collectible football highlight for each player, showcasing a bit of their history as a footballer, capturing a very dynamic football kick, and having this really cool minifigure that’s highly detailed,’ he added.
‘There’s a lot of references to the football players’ careers, like which clubs they played for, how many goals they’ve scored, and what they’re known for. So they’re really designed for hardcore fans.’
The FIFA World Cup Official Trophy is £159.99 and the Football set is £99.99. The four Football Highlights sets are all £24.99 each, while the two Football Legends sets are £69.99, and the big Lionel Messi – Celebration one is £159.99.
They’ll all be available from May 1 but you can pre-order them all now from the official Lego website and other stores.
These are part of the Lego Editions line of sets, which also includes other sports, such as F1 and basketball, as well as recreations of various Nike trainers. Lego won’t say what else it might incorporate in the future but given how well the footballer displays work it’s not hard to imagine that future sets might also include pop stars and other celebrities.
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