"We can't meet the demand for Messi shirts" - PSG official confirms Lionel Messi's signing has increased interest in club jerseys by 30-40%'
Lionel Messi's arrival at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has been a major commercial success off the field. According to Marc Armstrong, the club's sponsorship director, the club has found it difficult to match the demands of Messi's shirt since his free transfer from Barcelona last summer.
Armstrong said that the demand for PSG shirts has increased by around 30 to 40 percent over the last year. According to Asianet Newsable, the Parisian giants have sold more than one million shirts for the first time, with 60% of those sales being Messi's jerseys, with the number 30 on the back.
The PSG sponsorship director said:
"Demand has grown by 30 to 40 per cent and really what can slow it down is supply. When a signing of this size happens, (Cristiano) Ronaldo to (Manchester) United for example, you might think he's going to get paid by selling shirts, but that's not the case. You can't produce a lot of extra shirts."
Armstrong added that PSG are one of the highest shirt sellers of a single player among all the major football clubs. He said:
"The agreement is set to guarantee very important minimums, but we can't meet the demand for Messi shirts. We have reached the ceiling. Nobody can meet that demand. We are already selling a lot of jerseys, maybe more than any other team in the world for one player, and that puts us at the next level. We have a lot of demand for lifestyle products, the revenue with the Jordan brand is huge, but the demand grows even more when you sign a player like Messi."
Always be thankful to have lived in the Lionel Messi era 🇦🇷 🐐 https://t.co/Flc5BVBDRy
According to recent reports, PSG have generated a record revenue of €700 million since Lionel Messi's arrival last summer. Since signing the 35-year-old forward, the Ligue 1 giants have seen growth in all aspects, including ticketing sales and social media followers.
Lionel Messi did not have a great 2021-22 season with PSG
Despite the success off the pitch, Lionel Messi had an underwhelming campaign.
Happy Birthday, Leo Messi! 
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🎂 Happy Birthday, Leo Messi! ❤️💙🤩
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The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner ended the 2021-22 season with 11 goals and 15 assists from 34 games across competitions. The Argentina captain won his first Ligue 1 title but failed to take his team beyond the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Lionel Messi failed to score a penalty against eventual champions Real Madrid in the first leg, which came back to haunt the Parisians. Karim Benzema's 17-minute second leg hat-trick turned the tie on its head and Los Blancos prevailed with a 3-2 aggregate scoreline.
Notably, this was the first season since Lionel Messi's first two professional campaigns (2004-05 & 2005-06) that he failed to score goals in double digits in the league.