REAL MADRID
Mbappé on track to eclipse Beckham and Ronaldo in Madrid replica jersey sales
The French striker’s arrival at the Santiago Bernabéu has seen sales figures of replica shirts rocket.
Kylian Mbappé has yet to play a single game for his new club (Real Madrid), but already his signing is driving commercial success with sales rocketing of the No. 9 Mbappé replica jerseys which only went on sale on 11 July.
The official ‘fan version’ of the Real Madrid jersey for the forthcoming 2024-25 season costs 100 euros ($109) with the authentic player version setting fans back 150 euros ($164). Fans are also able to add Mbappé's name, number plus the Champions League patch which sees the overall price increase to between 135 and 185 euros and despite this elevated cost, fans have not been deterred in snapping up the new Adidas shirt.
Since going on sale last week, it’s estimated that roughly 7,000 shirts have been sold every day via the club’s website and official outlets in Spain. Online demand for a Mbappé shirt is such that fans are being told that a waiting time of around eight weeks may be necessary for certain sizes of the jersey with this neither proving to be a deterrent for Madridistas anxious to commemorate the signing of the French striker.
More than a million CR9 shirts sold in one year
With legendary Madrid player Raúl wearing the No. 7, upon his signing for the club, Cristiano Ronaldo sparked ‘CR9mania’ which led the Bernabéu outfit to sell just over one million shirts in his first season at Real Madrid. According to data provided in 2010 by the Portuguese media daily ‘A Bola’, sales of the replica jersey bearing the name and number of the Madeira born were being sold at roughly 3,300 units per day. At present that represents less than half of the turnover of shirts bearing the name of the French striker.
1M Beckham shirts sold in six months
Mbappé is on track to surpass the volume of shirts sold by the club bearing the No.23 and Beckham name following the player’s move from Manchester to Real Madrid in the summer of 2003.
David Beckham was one of the game’s great commercial drivers and in just six few months, between June 2003 and November of the same year, the former Manchester United player sold a million shirts for his new club, pulverising any previous records with demand in Asian markets being a driving factor in this demand.
During his spell with Real Madrid, the presence of the Englishman playing with the Santiago Bernabéu club saw Madrid increase their turnover by 60% just two years after Beckham’s arrival in the Spanish capital.
Now some 20 years later, the arrival of Mbappé at the club looks like being a commercial success and this even before the Frenchman has kicked a ball or played his first competitive match for his new side.