The Legacy
Manchester City 2020/21 · The first official NFT collection released by a Premier League champion — a landmark at the intersection of sport and Web3.
In May 2021, at the apex of their title-winning season, Manchester City made history twice. On the pitch, Pep Guardiola's side claimed the Premier League championship with a performance of sustained, almost imperious excellence. Off it, the club became the first top-flight champion in the history of English football to commemorate their triumph with an official NFT collection.
The club partnered with acclaimed 3D artist Jon Noorlander to create the release. Debuting on MakersPlace, the “1” collection represents a landmark moment where physical sporting heritage converges with digital provenance.
A centerpiece of this genesis drop is the “Champions Mosaics” series, a masterclass in digital texture that draws direct inspiration from the club's 2020/21 kit. The kit's design pays homage to the vibrant ceramic street art of Manchester's Northern Quarter, specifically the celebrated work of local mosaic artist Mark Kennedy. Kennedy's renowned physical works utilize broken ceramic plates and tiles to immortalize Mancunian icons and cultural heroes.
Tasked with bringing this cultural touchstone onto the blockchain, Noorlander brilliantly translates Kennedy's physical, cracked-tile aesthetic into a dynamic digital canvas. The series encompasses the championship-winning squad, utilizing the fragmented mosaic motif to boldly frame each player's name and squad number. The artworks feature a sophisticated interplay of geometric textures and colors—ranging from the classic sky blue to the distinctive teal, silver, and black variations worn across the roster. Each piece is anchored by the official club crest and overlaid with the respective player's unique digital signature.
By bridging Mark Kennedy's traditional street art with Noorlander's cutting-edge 3D design, the “Champions Mosaics” stands as a definitive piece of Web3 and sporting history.
Rodrigo — Token #61051
This is the NFT of Rodri — the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner. The only player in Manchester City's history to claim the award, and only the second Spaniard ever to win it. Minted in 2021, years before the world knew what this card would come to represent.
World Supply
1
1 of 1 — unique
The Artist
Jon Noorlander is a digital artist and former Executive Creative Director at Method Studios — one of the world's leading motion design and visual effects studios. With a foundational background in Scandinavian design and computer science, Noorlander has spent over two decades pioneering the intersection of high-end commercial visual effects and avant-garde digital fine art. His unparalleled technical mastery has been trusted by some of the world's most iconic brands, including Apple, Facebook, and Lexus.
The high valuation of Jon Noorlander's digital artworks is deeply rooted in his unique procedural methodology, historical significance in the Web3 space, and proven institutional success. Often referred to as a “Procedural Sculptor,” Jon creates complex, algorithmically driven 3D animations—such as his viral “Exploding Heads” and “Nature Move” series—that offer a deeply hypnotic, “oddly satisfying” sensory experience.
His top-tier works command premium prices for several key reasons:
Historical Provenance: Noorlander was among the early pioneers to tokenize high-fidelity 3D art in the summer of 2020, minting highly sought-after 1/1 pieces on exclusive platforms like SuperRare and Nifty Gateway.
Institutional Recognition: Unlike many digital creators whose valuations fluctuated wildly, Noorlander's artistic longevity has been validated by traditional fine art institutions. In 2023, his work was featured and successfully sold at the prestigious Sotheby's auction in Paris alongside other digital masters.
Scarcity and Cultural Impact: Jon meticulously curates his limited and unique 1/1 editions. His viral aesthetic has influenced global digital culture, making his authentic, original tokens highly prized blue-chip assets among serious collectors.
Top Auction & Sale Records
The following table highlights some of the landmark sales that solidify Jon Noorlander's status as a top-tier digital artist with a proven secondary and primary market demand.
Institutional Context
Noorlander's inclusion in Sotheby's curated digital art sales establishes this collection firmly within the Fine Art category — not the speculative collectibles market. The artist's blue-chip status provides institutional collectors with the validation framework they require.
The Custodian's Journey
How one collector saved the first-ever Premier League champion NFT drop from remaining forever incomplete — twenty minutes before it closed.
The Custodian's Interview
Your collection of Manchester City 2020/21 NFTs is considered a unique digital artifact today. But it all began much earlier, in the 90s. How did this club first enter your life?
It all started in the mid-nineties, specifically the 1996 season, I believe. That was when English football first began airing in our country, particularly the FA Cup. Why City? The answer is simple: Georgi Kinkladze. He was an entirely non-standard player for that era. Back then, English football was quite direct — long balls, crosses, and physical duels. But Kinkladze stood out with his incredible technique, dribbling, and vision. He seemed like an alien in that vertical game. It was because of him that I began following the Citizens, even though they weren't nearly as successful then as they are now.
Collection Sealed
7 August 2021
Total Assets Held
28 Digital Works
Status
Sole Custodian
The Collection
A complete on-chain inventory of all 28 digital assets. 16 of them are UNIQUE 1-of-1.Every token verified on Ethereum Mainnet. Rarity class determined by global supply. These are the first officially verified editions ever created for these players.
John Stones — Token #61059
The first official NFT of John Stones — the only Manchester City player to have been in the squad for the entire Guardiola era (2016–2026).
World Supply
1
1 of 1 — unique
The Gallery
All 28 digital works. Hover to play. Click to inspect token details, Arweave backup, and on-chain verification.
On-Chain Provenance
Every claim made in this document is verifiable on the Ethereum blockchain. The smart contract is public. The transaction history is immutable.
Ownership Ledger
24 May 2021
Official Drop started
Manchester City's 2020/21 squad NFT drop launches on MakersPlace. The first-ever NFT release by a Premier League champion.
27 May 2021
Emergency Acquisition
With 20 minutes remaining before closure, the custodian begins panic-buying the unclaimed squad — preserving what would otherwise be an incomplete record.
28 May 2021 – 9 Jun 2021
Extended Negotiations
Days of correspondence to acquire Phil Foden (1 of 3 editions worldwide) and The Champions Medal. A significant premium paid to ensure completeness.
7 August 2021
Collection Sealed
Final token acquired: Aguero purchased, 5 Captain editions received. The custodian becomes the sole owner of the complete 23-player squad across all 28 digital assets.
7 August 2021 → Present
Diamond Provenance
Zero transfers. Zero secondary market activity. The complete collection has remained in a single wallet since the moment of assembly.
Full collection — on-chain trail
Full history of consolidation of all tokens in the Custodian's wallet. The wallets 0xd95BCFD254b4271dc8042dA37E0d726345AE003F (Custodian's consolidation wallet) and 0xA6F0BC32c83746C40b007D68CBcbafe9a2707255 (citylegacyvault.eth) are owned and fully controlled by the Custodian.
Directly minted by Custodian (20 NFT Cards)
Captain editions issued by MakersPlace for Custodian (5 NFT Cards)
Acquired by Custodian on secondary market (3 NFT Cards)
Institutional Storage
In the world of digital assets, “link rot” represents an existential threat — the silent decay of URLs, servers, and storage nodes over time. This collection has been engineered to be immune.
In 2025, the MakersPlace platform announced its closure. Storage of media files on IPFS came under threat. The custodian took all necessary steps to eliminate any risk of loss or damage to the precious files. The media were re-uploaded to IPFS, pinning was carried out via Pinata, and in addition all necessary files were placed in permanent storage on Arweave.
Primary Storage
IPFS
InterPlanetary File System
The original decentralised storage layer used by MakersPlace at the time of minting. Content-addressed storage ensures each file's URL is derived from its cryptographic hash — making tampering mathematically impossible.
Pinned Redundancy
Pinata
IPFS Pinning Service
When MakersPlace announced its closure in 2025, the custodian repinned all 28 asset folders via Pinata. Each token's media and metadata remain permanently available on the IPFS network through this dedicated pinning layer — ensuring the collection stays accessible regardless of the original platform's fate.
Permanent Backup
Arweave
Permanent Decentralised Archive
Every one of the 28 original asset files has been independently duplicated to Arweave — a blockchain-based permanent storage network designed to preserve data for a minimum of 200 years, backed by an endowment model. This was an extraordinary step taken by the custodian to eliminate any risk of link rot or file loss.
All 28 assets — IPFS, Pinata, Arweave
Technical Assurance
Each of the 28 digital assets in this collection holds a verified Arweave backup URL in addition to its original IPFS content address. Prospective acquirers may independently verify both storage references for any token via the on-chain metadata. The visual components of this collection are mathematically protected for centuries.
Questions
Why are Nathan Aké (a rotation player) and Scott Carson presented as Captains?
MakersPlace offered a Captain Edition mechanic: for every four NFTs purchased, the buyer received one bonus card — the same player in a captain’s kit with a different colour scheme. The custodian had bought 20 players and was entitled to five Captain slots. He chose Fernandinho (the actual team captain), Kevin De Bruyne, and Sergio Agüero — the last as a tribute to his final season. Because the mint window had closed, he had not had time to mint those two, and the only way to include them in the collection was to order them as Captain editions. The custodian wanted their names to remain part of the history of this drop. He spent three months in correspondence with MakersPlace so they would mint exactly those five Captain Editions.
Why are there two João Cancelo cards?
As described in the Custodian’s interview: with about 20 minutes left before the drop closed, he saw that most of the squad had not been sold. He began panic-buying to save the collection — “I acted like a robot, trying to finish before the deadline.” The network was congested; transactions were slow and he could not be sure they were going through. In the rush, he accidentally minted Cancelo twice. So the two Cancelo cards in the collection are a direct result of that frantic evening and the custodian’s determination to preserve the set.
What risks did the closure of MakersPlace create, and what was done to preserve the collection?
In 2025 MakersPlace announced its closure. Storage of the collection’s media on IPFS was put at risk: the original gateway and pinning could be discontinued. The custodian took steps to remove any risk of loss or damage to the files. All media were re-uploaded to IPFS and pinned via Pinata so the content remains available on the decentralised network. In addition, every asset was placed in permanent storage on Arweave, with a minimum 200-year endowment. The collection is now backed by multiple independent layers — IPFS, Pinata, and Arweave — and is no longer dependent on MakersPlace or any single platform.
Direct Channel
For auction specialists and private brokers requiring direct communication:
custodian@citylegacyvault.comConfidential Correspondence
For encrypted communication, PGP key available upon request.
PGP · On request
www.citylegacyvault.com
Confidential · February 2026