PSG admits club unable to meet the 'massive demand' for Lionel Messi jerseys

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)'s Director of sponsorship Marc Armstrong on Monday revealed that the club has been finding it very difficult to manage the barrage of requests they have been receiving for Lionel Messi jerseys. He further added that the club has seen a demand by nearly 30-40%

"Yes, the demand has grown between 30 and 40%, and what can really stop it is the offer. When a transfer of this magnitude happens, Ronaldo to United, for example, you might think that they are going to pay him by selling shirts, but that is not the case. You can’t overproduce a bunch of t-shirts." Armstrong told Spanish outlet MARCA. 

"The agreement is set to guarantee very important minimums, but we cannot meet the demand for Messi shirts. We have reached the ceiling. No one can meet that demand. We are already selling many jerseys, more than perhaps 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" he further added.

Notably, Lionel Messi's PSG move last year was never anticipated and was all in a sudden, making it of the most shocking transfers. The player joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer, ending his 17-year association with his childhood club Barcelona. As per media outlet Goal, PSG is said to have already sold nearly one million shirts with Messi's name on the back. 

How has Messi performed at PSG so far? 

Lionel Messi did take time to adapt to new playing conditions, and had a slow start to his PSG career. In his first 11 games for the club, the attacking forward has just managed one goal. However, come to now in his last six Ligue 1 fixtures, Messi has seven goal contributions, scoring once and assisting six of the goals. 

In total, across 25 games, Messi has scored seven goals and assisted 11 but has managed to find the back of the net only twice in the Ligue one.

Image: AP