The Argentine star, Lionel Messi has already created his mark in PSG. Since the arrival of Messi, the revenue graph of the Ligue 1 club has touched skyrockets. According to the reports, PSG generated a massive income of €23.7m in the first few minutes after announcing the deal for Lionel Messi. This speaks volumes of the stature of the player.
According to Spanish outlet AS, the French club sold more than 150,000 Lionel Messi shirts in the space of seven minutes. Although the shirt sales won’t go directly into PSG’s pockets. The Ligue 1 side signed an agreement with Nike until 2032 which means the club receives €80 million upfront each year rather than a percentage cut of final sales.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner signed on a two-year deal with PSG. Messi will receive a £25m signing-on fee as part of the move – with a third-year as an option. He will wear the No. 30 jersey for PSG, which was the number he wore on his Barcelona debut in 2003.
Lionel Messi jersey sales result in insane income for PSG
PSG sold a mind-boggling 832,000 Messi jerseys in the first 24 hours of his arrival in Paris. With this, the record of 520,000 Cristiano Ronaldo jerseys sold when the star moved to Juventus in 2018 got broken. PSG has also jumped in rankings to become the third most valuable football club in the world, behind Manchester City and Chelsea. While FC Barcelona dropped to the 8th position following Messi’s departure.
Barcelona have lost multiple sources of income
Reports also suggested that Barcelona has lost multiple sources of income with the departure of their star player, with shirt sales being a big factor. According to Brand Finance, Messi’s departure could end up costing the Blaugrana €137 million in brand value. They estimate a loss of €17 million on matchday. Also, they’ll lose €43 million on merchandise sales.