Football over the years has seen some iconic rivalries. But the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has reshaped modern football. From their breathtaking goals to era-defining longevity at the top, both of them are somehow still going strong. This summer transfer window saw them both move to a different club. While Messi left Barcelona in some bizarre situation, Ronaldo got re-united with the red devils. Since the move, their battle shifted to a whole new arena: that of shirt sales. Let’s take a look at Lionel Messi vs Cristiano shirt sales numbers.
‘Ronaldo7’ and ‘Messi30’ have been a thing of debate since both the singing got official.
With Barcelona unable to registering Messi with his humongous salary, the little man’s exit came as a shocker. Lionel Messi left devasted in the press conference as he wanted to stay in his childhood club for another season. However, Paris Saint-Germain came in with a lot of intent, and the transfer didn’t take time. After negotiating his salary the 34-year-old was unveiled in front of the crazy Paris crowd. That followed a huge number of fans turning out to buy the ‘Messi30’shirt. “The queue is now so long for access to the PSG shop for Lionel Messi shirts that it extends into the metro station.” — Get French Football News (@GFFN)
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The Numbers of Lionel Messi 30:
According to Marca, PSG sold over 830,000 jerseys in the first 24 hours after Messi’s signing was announced, breaking the previous record of 520,000 jerseys sold held by Cristiano Ronaldo on his move to Juventus.
While Messi finally left Barcelona after so many years, it was Cristiano Ronaldo’s late dramatic move to Manchester United that made the transfer window a memorable one. With news coming previously about, Ronaldo joining Manchester City, the red devils were quite disgusted. However, a last-ditch attempt from them was accepted by Juventus, and Ronaldo was re-united. The news cause a heavy uplift in the United stocks. Fans around the world got crazy excited just by a mere announcement. Edinson Cavani let go of his number 7 shirt as a goodwill gesture and finally, the news became official that it would be ‘Ronaldo7’.
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Ronaldo’s numbers:
According to United shirt sales, the fans nearly spent £32.6 million in the first 12 hours of the shirt availability. The number recently take a steep hit to almost £187.1 million. According to Love the Sales, the world’s biggest online sales marketplace, he now holds the record of the highest number of shirt sales in the Premier League. When it comes to the commission earned by the respective clubs, United has brought in £13.1m in comparison to PSG’s £7.3m.
The shirt sales have been staggering and that just shows how massive these two have been over the years. However, the sale has irony written all over it. Cristiano Ronaldo, a Nike athlete, bagged all the money for a United shirt, sponsored by Adidas. And Messi, an athlete of Adidas bagged all the money for a PSG shirt, sponsored by Nike.
Well, Ronaldo has made his debut and got his season up and running with two goals while Messi hasn’t started for the French giants as of yet. Both the players have Champions League matches coming next, so hopefully, the great rivalry will resume without any hamper as well.
