The contract of Argentine star Lionel Messi with Paris Saint-Germain was a piece of good news for former American basketball legend Michael Jordan, who had lost about a quarter of his wealth due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Spanish newspaper "Marca." Messi transferred for free to the French giant after his former team Barcelona failed to renew his contract, which shocked many fans of the "Argentinian magician," both supporters and opponents of this move.
It seems that Michael Jordan was among the most delighted by "the flea's" arrival at the "Princes' Park" in Paris, as it would help compensate for some of his financial losses after his wealth decreased by 24 percent, according to Forbes magazine, dropping to $1.6 billion from $2.1 billion.
But how did Messi's transfer financially affect Jordan? In fact, Messi, along with Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, ranks among the highest-selling jersey names in the clubs they play for. Following the former Barcelona captain's move to Paris, the French capital club sold Messi jerseys worth $126 million within a week, earning Jordan $6 million from those sales.
Jordan's "Jordan Brand" unit at Nike has supplied jerseys for Paris Saint-Germain since the 2019/20 season, so the owner of that unit, Michael Jordan, receives a 5% profit for each jersey sold by "PSG" stores worldwide. It is expected that the Chicago Bulls basketball star will continue to earn more as the rush to buy Messi's jersey persists.
