Sports collectibles and memorabilia are a huge industry. Collectors purchase more than $2 billion per year on sports and entertainment collectables annually. What really makes them valuable is when they come with a certificate of authenticity.

Collectors buy everything from sports cards to anything autographed to game-used clothing. This leads me to the topic of this theft class blog.

Quick, what is the most popular sport on the planet? If you guessed soccer (AKA football in most other countries), you would be right. The stars of this sport are the elite and are paid the highest sums by far. The numbers are downright ludicrous! The memorabilia from stars such as Pele, Ronadinho, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo garner top-dollar on the collectable market.

Ronaldo, and two of his teammates, Mesut Oezil and Karim Benzema, were the victims of theft recently according to the Sacramento Bee. The trio star for Real Madrid, playing in the semifinals of the European Champions League, arguably the best soccer on the planet.

Ronaldo reportedly had three pairs of soccer shoes and shirts stolen before Real Madrid's Champions League game against Bayern Munich. The new ones he'll get as compensation will make him fit right into the Oktoberfest this year.

In a gag, German radio station Bayern 1 says it will donate a pair of Bavarian folk shoes to Ronaldo.

Who would buy these shoes? Can they even be authenticated? Seriously folks, let’s not take things that don’t belong to us. Learn more by taking a California theft and shoplifting class.