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September 12, 2024
When it comes to marketing and selling shirts, Ronaldo is usually the leader from every financial perspective. It's not very different when we look at Premier League shirts, as the Portuguese legend is on the very top of the best-selling replica jerseys in the last years...
The global digital sports platform Fanatics released their list of the top-selling Premier League player shirts, and no one comes close to the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo, not even the mega million signings Erling Haaland or Jack Grealish. Before he fell out of favor with the manager and left for Saudi Arabia, CR7 was by far the biggest star in the premier league. His celebrity status played a big role in fans lining up in stores to purchase his famous number 7. Despite spending less than two full seasons at Old Trafford, Cristiano Ronaldo went on to record the biggest numbers in jersey sales than any other player's best-selling season in the last five years, proving yet again that he is the "GOAT". The report revealed that the Portuguese icon led the pack of EPL players with the highest number of replica shirt sales with the majority of them coming from his 2021/22 Premier League return season. The high demand for Ronaldo's jerseys showed just how the commercial power of top footballers is. Clubs and kit manufacturers know how important it is to secure such player endorsements, with brands from various sectors, including gambling and online casinos, vying for the coveted shirt and sleeve sponsorships.
Cristiano Ronaldo - Goals you can't forget:
City's talismanic striker Erling Haaland comes in second on the list, thanks to his phenomenal transfer in July 2022 when he left Borussia Dortmund and signed a deal worth £51m with Manchester City.
Haaland led the Cityzens to win the continental treble in 2022, and the biggest sales of his number nine shirt were recorded in that same debut season of his in England.
Man City’s Jack Grealish came third to close off the list of the three biggest shirt sellers in the Premier League for the past half-decade. Grealish sold the third-most replica kits in the 2021/22 season following his £100m move from Aston Villa.
Another City player who made the list is England's wonder kid Phil Foden who clutched 9th place. Many more fans wore his name on their backs during the 2021/22 campaign when he won the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Foden is joined by another youngster, Alejandro Garnacho who had one of his best seasons in the concluded 2023/24 campaign.
Garnacho, a player who idolizes Cristiano Ronaldo, found the net 10 times across all competitions last season. His outrageous overhead kick against Everton was voted as Manchester United's Goal of the Season.
It's easy to see why the 20-year-old claimed the number 5 spot, just one place ahead of his English teammate Marcus Rashford.
For some time in the 2022/23 season, it appeared that Erik ten Hag had found a way to unlock Rashford's full potential when he scored 39 goals across all competitions. His stellar performance was reflected by his number 10 jersey sales which earned him a decent no.6 spot on the list.
Another great player on the list is Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, who takes the fourth spot. The Egyptian phenom recorded his highest jersey sales in the competitive 2021/22 season when his team won the domestic cup double and finished a point behind City in the final EPL standings.
Coming in at number 7 is Tottenham's Son Heung-Min, who coincidentally rocks the number seven jersey.
His shirt was the most coveted by fans in 2021/22 when he gave Salah a run for his money in fighting for the Golden Boot with 23 goals each, just before Haaland arrived the season after to take away all the glory with an astronomical 36 goals scored in a single Premier League season.
The remaining top ten spots are occupied by forwards. Antony, Manchester United's £84 million signing, secures eighth place due to his impressive 2022/23 first season in England. His attacking partner, Rasmus Hojlund, rounds out the list after a promising first year at Old Trafford last season, marked by ten league goals.
Ronaldo left the Premier League in 2022 by mutual agreement with the Red Devils in November 2022 when he could no longer see eye to eye with the club's hierarchy.
He went on to expose the flip side of the club through an interview with Piers Morgan, during which he called out the club for their questionable decisions.
CR7 claimed that the executives at Old Trafford didn't show any empathy after he lost his newborn son in April 2022 and that Erik ten Hag had no respect for him. This happened after the Dutch manager substituted him during a pre-season friendly when the Portuguese opted to leave the pitch.
A similar drama was witnessed in October of the same year when United thrashed Tottenham and Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute leaving the pitch before the final whistle.
His exit meant leaving without a payout, and to date, it's not clear whether the 5-time Ballon d'Or winner is on good terms with Eric Ten Hag.
Ronaldo's choice to leave England doesn’t diminish his status as a Premier League legend, given he won his first Ballon d'Or under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Al Nassr is on September 13, against Al Ahli for the Saudi Super League. You can watch Al Nassr vs Al Ahli, Real Socieadd vs Real Madrid, Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest, Southampton vs Manchester United, Bournemouth vs Chelsea and Man City vs Brentford, all matches provided from our live soccer game pages.
Al Nassr next game:
Al Nassr vs Al Ahli kick-off time (13-09-2024):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 02:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 23:30
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) | UTC/GMT+3: 21:00
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 20:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 19:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 15:00
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-3: 15:00
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-6: 12:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / football365.com / goal.com
