It is true that the Inter Miami jerseys with the name of Leo Messi on the back are the most sought after in the MLS and international soccer market. However, there is a player who sells more jerseys than the Argentine and he is the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback.
When Messi announced his arrival in Miami, everything related to the team suddenly skyrocketed in value. Both match tickets and Tata Martino‘s merchandise reached record sales and in the first 48 hours of the launching of the apparel in question, 700,000 units were sold.
Jalen Hurts, however, has sold more than that, at least until July of this year. The QB even surpasses the popularity of players like Aaron Rodgers, Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes. At just 25 years old, he has already played in a Super Bowl, was a finalist for the season’s most valuable player award (MVP) and has already won a contract extension through 2028.
And Cristiano Ronaldo?
The Portuguese player’s arrival in the Saudi Arabian league also impacted the market, although he did not come close to what Messi did.
Al-Nassr recorded sales of 122,000 jerseys with Cristiano Ronaldo‘s name on them. According to Euromericas Sport Marketing, the difference also lies in the strategy that the team carried out in conjunction with Adidas.
“The club’s official website collapsed on Monday for 12 hours. It is expected to reach one million sales before the weekend. It’s a resounding success,” confessed ESM’s CEO.
When is the Ballon d’Or ceremony for 2023?
The Ballon d’Or is one of the most highly regarded awards in all of soccer, with the winner generally being perceived as the best player in the world for the previous season which in this case is 2022/23.
So far, the most successful winner is Messi, who owns seven of the golden balls, whilst Ronaldo trails closely on five. In a combined total, the pair have appeared in the top three on 25 occasions since their first top three in 2007.
Messi is widely anticipated to win his eighth award, thanks to his successful club season and FIFA World Cup with Argentina. In the tournament hosted in Qatar, he scored seven goals and assisted three more in seven games.
He also added five ‘man of the match’ awards, including in the final against France, as Argentina got their hands on the trophy for the first time since 1986.
His only rival is expected to be Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, and the ceremony is scheduled for October 30th.