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2 Years After $7,000,000 in Profits For Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi’s ‘Next Move’ Has Caused 2 million Followers Drop For PSG

Siddid Dey Purkayastha
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2 Years After $7,000,000 in Profits For Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi’s ‘Next Move’ Has Caused 2 million Followers Drop For PSG

The collaboration between Air Jordan and Paris Saint Germain is one of the most unique ones in sports. If you ask why, it’s because the Jordan brand has now transcended beyond the realms of basketball. It is seen as the holy grail in the sneaker community and although Nike is PSG’s kit sponsor for almost three decades, the new Nike X Jordan kits started coming out later. A new sponsorship deal with Air Jordan and PSG was struck and after Lionel Messi moved to PSG in 2021, Michael Jordan reportedly earned $ 7,000,000 in profit from jersey sales.

However, after two beautiful years in Paris, Lionel Messi is set to leave PSG as a free agent. The 35-year-old soccer legend will not be renewing his contract with the French club. He might be seeking new challenges in other leagues, with many sources suggesting that he is going to either Saudi Arabia or back to Spain.

Following this move, Joe Pompliano reports PSG has now lost 2 million Instagram followers. When Messi first joined in 2021, PSG’s following soared from 38 million to 70 million. When we compare soccer in terms of basketball, Messi in many ways is equal to Jordan.

This is because he currently leads the GOAT debate for the sport, having won every major trophy in club and International forums. Furthermore, Messi is an FC Barcelona legend, just like his basketball counterpart Jordan is for the Chicago Bulls.

Lionel Messi joining PSG made Michael Jordan profit massively from the transfer

It would be rather unlikely for an average basketball fan to believe that Michael Jordan made profits from PSG. Also because someone like Lionel Messi netted him the profits sound just as unbelievable. As crazy as it may seem, Michael Jordan’s iconic 1984 deal with Nike made this possible.

PSG’s deal with Air Jordan has resulted in several of their iconic home and away kits being designed by the brand. The kit also features Michael Jordan’s ‘Air Jordan’ silhouette, something never seen before in soccer. Well, this deal was widely appreciated by soccer and basketball fans alike. In fact, it also helped popularize soccer in North America, with popular American stars such as Kim Kardashian and Beyonce wearing the jersey.

With Messi’s arrival in Paris, the jerseys with his name from PSG sold in soaring numbers. This helped Michael Jordan earn around $7,000,000 in profit from the sales. However, after the club announced Messi’s departure, they lost around 2 million followers within just 2 weeks!

This might perhaps have a significant impact on Michael Jordan, as His Airness might see a loss of the same $ 7 million profit that he earned because of Messi.

How will Messi’s transfer to FC Barcelona impact the Air Jordan brand?

Well, Nike will not be impacted in any particular way, if Messi were to re-join FC Barcelona next. Barcelona’s kits are manufactured by Nike themselves, rather than the Air Jordan brand. So, most of the profit will go to Nike rather than Air Jordan or MJ.

If in future FC Barcelona also signs a similar deal with Air Jordan, perhaps there might be a chance for this unique collaboration between the two goats to continue.

This seems far from likely, given Barcelona is currently sinking in its own financial woes. The club recently got approved for a $1.5 billion worth renovation of the Spotify Camp Nou, with the deal being sponsored by J.P. Morgan Chase. The team will be playing their next home matches at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, more commonly known as Montjuic Olympic Stadium.

About the author

Siddid Dey Purkayastha

Siddid Dey Purkayastha

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Siddid Dey Purkayastha is an NBA Journalist at SportsRush, covering the sports for two years. He has always been a lover of sports and considers basketball as his favorite. While he has more than 600 articles under his belt, Siddid specializes in CoreSport pieces with on-point game analysis. He is an ardent fan of the Los Angeles Lakers, since Kobe Bryant's 80-point game made him a fan of the franchise. Apart from basketball, Siddid occasionally watches soccer and takes a fancy in following up with the Premier League in his free time.

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