Cristiano Ronaldo fever is gripping Juventus FC.
Juventus, the biggest soccer club in Italy, sold 520,000 Ronaldo jerseys in just 24 hours, according to Yahoo Italy, The Guardian, and beIN Sports. As official Ronaldo jerseys cost about $120, that would be $62.4 million in total revenue — almost half his transfer fee.
Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juventus last week in a $129.3 million (£99.2 million) deal, but the Italian club will not recuperate the bulk of the transfer fee from shirt sales alone, as typically clubs receive only 10-15% of the revenue generated by the kit manufacturer (in this case, Adidas). It is therefore likely that Juventus will see about $6 million to $9 million of this money.
Regardless, Juventus is still feeling the effects of acquiring one of the planet’s most famous athletes.
When news of Ronaldo’s intended move broke, Juventus shares popped almost 40%. The club also witnessed a massive social-media boost as its channels gained more than 1.5 million new followers in a single day.
Speaking of his transfer, Ronaldo said he hoped to “take Juventus to an even higher level,” according to the BBC. Meanwhile, The Guardian reported that he also said, “I want to leave my mark on the history of Juventus.”
It looks as if he may have already done those things without even kicking a ball.
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