Picture Credit: Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo sent shockwaves around the football world when he announced that he will be re-joining Manchester United after 12 years. It was one of those historic days for the true football fans. Initially, there had been fears that Ronaldo would not be able to take up the No. 7 shirt as Premier League rules prevent a mid-season swap except in some circumstances.However, Manchester United asked the Premier League for special dispensation to allow Ronaldo to wear the number 7 at the club and were successful in their request.
Soon it was made official by the Premier Club that Ronaldo will be back in the No. 7 and fans can order the clone for themselves. The joy was double for the Ronaldo fans— their favorite player back at Old Trafford with the iconic No. 7 jesrsey. The fans' love reflected in the sales numbers. The replica shirt has broken all sales records and the manufacturer Adidas is struggling to meet the demands within just 12 hours after the announcement. The Ronaldo No. 7 kit has already broken the record for most shirt sales as LovetheSales.com reports that fans collectively splashed out a whopping £32.5m on the jersey in just 12 hours of the kit releasing.
If we get into numbers further, the website (LovetheSales.com) tracks sales data from over 1,000 UK online retailers. It is also being reported that the club sold 295,500 shirts and 406,250 shirts between that period, making it the Premier League’s top-selling jersey ahead of Manchester City’s Jack Grealish.
Can it cover the transfer cost?
With numbers hovering all around, people have also started calling out that the shirt sales will alone cover the transfer cost of £13m, which can go upto £19m with add-ons. But how much is that true? Well, not even close. Till now, the shirt sales have brought £32.5m in the first 12 hours, but it should be clear, the club will only get 10 percent of the revenue but a maximum £5 per shirt despite the kits costing anywhere from 80 pounds to 110 pounds. This means that the club will only bag something close to £2 million. So, the answer to the above question is, definitely not.