Times have changed, haven’t they? There was once a time when football fans never thought they would see a player signed for a seven-figure price, but now here we are, freely signing players with nine-figure sums almost as if with pride.
While some players failed prior to their moves, some other did really well – but that didn’t really matter. Some players’ popularity meant that they recouped almost the entire money that was paid for them by their clubs through jersey sales.
And here are five such players whose jersey sales justify their transfer price.
#5 Mesut Ozil
Ozil was a crown jewel in Real Madrid, an assist machine that made Cristiano Ronaldo even better. However, after losing Neymar to Barcelona, Florentino Perez had to make a statement: and the acquisition of Gareth Bale was just that.
However, he had to let go of one of his stars in order to balance the books, so Ozil was sacrificed and Arsenal shattered their transfer record to sign him for £42 million. And that’s when Arsenal fans went crazy and almost repaid all the money by buying his shirts.
It was reported that the German sold more than twice the shirts for Arsenal than Gareth Bale did at Real Madrid. Indeed, Arsenal were selling 12 times more shirts through their online store than the usual amount.
Even now, Mesut Ozil leads the Arsenal charts when it comes to shirt sales, paying back literally all the money through that alone.
#4 Eden Hazard
When one realises the fact that the world class Belgian was signed for only £32 million, it instantly occurs to them that this might just be one of the best value-for-money signings of all time. Eden Hazard was already a star with Lille and took his game to another level at Stamford Bridge.
So it was only natural for Chelsea fans to rush and buy shirts with his name on the back, given that he was the brightest prospect in the world at that point. However, unlike the other people on this list, his name actually grew hyperbolically after signing his for his new club.
And it is for this reason that his shirts sell the most among all the Chelsea players. Indeed, according to a report from Sky Sports, Chelsea sold the most shirts in 2015/16 among all Premier League clubs—and Eden Hazard was the one who leads the list for Chelsea.
#3 Neymar
Nobody really knows the true amount of money for which the Brazilian was signed, but if Josep Maria Bartomeu is to be believed, then Barcelona had to pay around £50 million to acquire his signature.
And it was money well spent by the Catalans as Neymar has not only repaid it with his performances on the pitch, but also with his influence off it. Being the most famous Brazilian player of this era means that he is one of the most marketable players in the world today.
Hence, it is only natural for him to lead the shirt sales charts. Indeed, as Barcelona sold 1.98 million shirts last year, Neymar’s shirts were the second most sold for the Blaugrana, behind only his team-mate Lionel Messi.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo
When he joined Real Madrid for a world-record fee of £80 million, many were wondering whether the Blancos were in their right senses to make such a decision. As it turned out, they were. Cristiano Ronaldo now leads the chart for the most goals scored by a Real Madrid player, overtaking Raul’s tally, and added three more Ballon d’Ors to his name.
However, even if he had not been a success on the pitch, he still would have recouped the money.
Real Madrid sold over a million shirts with “Ronaldo 9” at the back in Madrid alone within a few days of his signing. And that was back in 2009. Eight years later, the Portuguese still leads the way in terms of Real Madrid shirts sold and is likely to hold that position for a few more years.
#1 Paul Pogba
And who else but Paul Pogba? The man became the most expensive player in the history of football last summer when Manchester United signed him for £89 million. After a very successful time at Juventus, where he became one of the best players in the world, he was given a hero’s return.
Instantly, shirt sales when berserk. It seemed as though United fans were on a mission to pay back the club the money it spent on Pogba as they kept buying the shirts. Indeed, according to various reports, Paul Pogba’s shirts were the highest selling among the other Premier League players and was only behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo worldwide.
Now, that’s some homecoming.
