September 19 – For the second year running Lionel Messi has topped the table of shirt sales in the MLS.
With Messi’s InterMiami comfortably top the MLS and his leading of Argentina to the CopaAmerica title in his adopted home city in the summer, signs are that InterMiami and the MLS are now more than just a Messi show.
Teammate Luis Suarez is second behind Messi in the ranking while InterMiami have four players in the top 25.
All MLS team shirts are supplied by Adidas as part of a centralised deal. The MLS figures are taken from the top-selling shirts on MLSstore.com, though the MLS doesn’t release the actual sales volume.
The numbers do show that the league’s fans are connecting with new stars, younger players and that there is an impressive international spread with 13 different nationalities represented.
Four of the top 25 are first-year MLS players: Pedro de la Vega (Seattle Sounders FC), Emil Forsberg (New York Red Bulls), Olivier Giroud (LAFC), Luis Suárez (Inter Miami CF).
Six players are aged 25 or younger: Pedro de la Vega (23), Brian Gutiérrez (21), Cucho Hernández (25), Riqui Puig (25), Jacob Shaffelburg (24), John Tolkin (22).
Messi is of course still a force on his own and when he signed his three-year InterMiami contract it was intended that he would be there through the opening of their new 25,000 capacity stadium in 2025. The stadium will not now open until 2026, the year after Messi’s deal ends. InterMiami will be keen to keep him going for a bit longer.
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