The eight best-selling club shirts in the world for 2022/23 have been revealed
A number of top teams sold millions of replica shirts over the course of the 2022/23 season.
Manchester United and Adidas rank second with 1.75 million sales, showcasing the continued popularity of the club despite post-Sir Alex Ferguson troubles.
Arsenal, sponsored by Adidas, comes in at eighth place with 850,000 sales, boosted by their success on the pitch and their return to the Champions League.
For as much as football is all about the results at the end of the day, there are some less-important things that still mean the world to supporters. Right at the very top of that list comes the club kit.
Of course, it doesn’t impact team performance but nobody wants to watch their side come out in some ugly shirt, created by some overly ambitious designer who doesn’t actually watch the sport. And there have been some pretty controversial kits over the years.
For instance, Manchester United’s away kit from the 1995-96 season has gone down in infamy after the players were so unhappy with the grey strip, they swapped it at half-time.
But if the kit-makers and sponsors come together to release something pleasing to the eye, they can not only make something that has the potential to become a key part of a club’s iconography, but it can also bring in millions of pounds in revenue. And this sort of thing really does matter in the modern game.
Indeed, as much as certain club owners have all the money in the world to invest in their teams, they can’t just invest unlimited funds. Due to Financial Fair Play rules, clubs can’t spend more than they earn. So to be sustainable, it helps if their shirts are flying off the shelves.
This explains why teams now tend to release new home, away and third kits every season, instead of letting designs be worn for a couple of years in a row.
But the question is, who’s shirt is the most popular? Well, as per research conducted by Dr Peter Rohlmann, via Reddit, the results are in for the 2022/23 season.
Arsenal – 850,000
Arsenal, who are sponsored by Adidas, come in at eighth on the list, just getting in ahead of Chelsea (who sold 800,000 shirts). According to Dr Rohlmann, via Łukasz Bączek on X, the sales increased by almost 20 per cent compared to the 2021/22 season, when just over 700,000 replicas were sold.
No doubt, the Gunners’ popularity was boosted by their success on the pitch.
They ended up finishing second in the Premier League, but led the division for most of the season. Being back in the Champions League for the 2023/24 campaign will likely help growth even more over the following 12 months.
Paris Saint-Germain – 1,100,000
With 1.1 million replica sales, Paris Saint-Germain were the seventh-biggest club in the world in terms of this category last season. With the likes of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe on their books, their popularity comes as no surprise.
However, that trio couldn’t fire the club to success in the Champions League, although they did still win Ligue 1. And with Neymar and Messi leaving in the summer, it will be interesting to see how that impacts future kit sales for the side sponsored by Nike.
Manchester City – 1,290,000
for the 2022-23 financial year. Adding to this was the 1.29 million replica shirts sold in tandem with Puma.
In fairness to the club from Manchester, they did achieve a memorable treble last season, lifting the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup. The arrival of true superstar Erling Haaland would have also played a big role in kit sales.
Bayern Munich – 1,350,000
German giants Bayern Munich were always likely to feature high on this list, and with 1.35 million sales, the Adidas-sponsored side rank in at fifth. They are the only Bundesliga club to make the top eight.
They crashed out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage for a third time in a row last term, and only just won the league on the final day of the season. Had they performed more convincingly on either front, perhaps they would have sold more shirts.
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Barcelona – 1,600,000
In terms of global popularity, clubs don’t get much bigger than Barcelona but with living legend Messi leaving in the summer of 2021, it’s more than likely that shirt sales have been impacted in the following years. Even so, the Catalan outfit still shifted 1.6m units under Nike sponsorship last term.
This number would have been boosted by their domestic success as manager Xavi led to the club to a first La Liga triumph since since 2019. In the Champions League, however, they were knocked out at the group stages for a second year in a row, which would have impacted the club’s popularity.
Real Madrid – 1,700,000
Real Madrid fans will no doubt be delighted to finish above their Spanish rivals on this list but with 1.7 million sales, they only just make it into the top three here. The Adidas-sponsored outfit continues to be one of the biggest clubs in the world even if they didn’t have the greatest season.
After all, they were knocked out of the Champions League convincingly by Man City and then, as mentioned before, were beaten in the race for La Liga by Barcelona. Jude Bellingham’s recent arrival will help the club sell even more replicas throughout the current campaign.
Manchester United – 1,750,000
With 1.75 million sales, Manchester United and Adidas just squeezed into second on this list. Their high ranking is a testament to just how big the club remains, despite the troubles of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
At least they enjoyed some on-field success last term under Erik ten Hag too, as they won the Carabao Cup and finished inside the top four, thus qualifying for the Champions League. Still, that hard work has already started to unravel in the Dutchman’s second season in charge.
Liverpool – 1,800,000
And so, ranking in with the most football shirt sales in 2022/23, come Liverpool and their sponsor Nike.
The Reds have enjoyed a period of sustained success since Jurgen Klopp arrived in 2015, and this is clearly helping with their popularity off the pitch.
The Reds actually suffered a tricky campaign last term, finishing fifth in the Premier League, and consequently falling out of the Champions League. They look like title challengers once more this time around, though, so it will be interesting to see if they will retain their status as the number one in replica shirt sales this time next year
