Lionel Messi has once again been in the headlines, following the revelations of his contract demands to former club Barcelona.
While the figures being touted might be surprising, they seem justified when compared with what he has generated for his current club, Paris Saint-Germain, following his transfer.
Messi‘s arrival had a direct impact on PSG‘s image, income and footballing quality, with the player reportedly generating an obscene amount of 700 million euros in just one year.
Messi’s economic impact
According to the Argentine publication El Economista, Messi‘s transfer secured up to 10 new sponsors, with the sponsorship fees increasing from around 3m to 8m euros.
Some of these sponsors are well-known brands such as Dior, Gorillas, Crypto.com, PlayBetR, GOAT, Snart Good Thins, Volt, Big Cola, Sports Water and Autohero.
Meanwhile, PSG‘s sponsorship deal with Nike brings in around 75m euros a year, with the contract set to run until 2032.
Messi‘s profile also meant an exponential increase in the number of club shirts sold last year.
PSG sold more than one million units, ranging from 90 to 160 euros each, with more than 60 percent of them adorned with the Argentine’s name on the back of them.
Marc Armstrong, PSG‘s business director, explained what Messi‘s arrival meant to MARCA a few months ago.
“The demand has grown between 30 percent and 40 percent and all that can slow it down is the supply,” he said.
“When one of these transfers takes place, people think that it is paid for by selling shirts, and it’s not quite like that. You can’t produce a lot of extra shirts.
“The deal is made to cover a minimum, which is very important, but you can’t satisfy all the demand for Messi shirts”.
Messi’s impact on PSG’s social media
The arrival of Messi also generated a significant uptick in the French club’s social media following.
The club gained more than 15 million followers across all its platforms, and surpassed 150 million in total followers.
According to Armstrong, PSG gained 1.4 million followers per week, surpassed 10 million followers on Tik Tok and became France’s most followed company on Instagram.
The figures clearly indicate Messi‘s off field worth to the French side.
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