Cristiano Ronaldo's new number 7 shirt at Manchester United has smashed records for the most sales within the first 24 hours of its release.
Ronaldo, who helped make the 7 famous during his first stint at the club, was handed his old number after its previous owner, Edinson Cavani, agreed to swap to the vacant 21 shirt - the same number he wears on the international stage with Uruguay.
Once the number was confirmed, United fans went absolutely mental.
United's club store was inundated with fans trying to buy 'Ronaldo 7' jerseys, and it got to a point that Fanatics, the company who manage the online store, confirmed (via The Mirror) that they had seen a record number of sales over the first 24 hours of the shirt being confirmed.
Ronaldo's move to United generated more shirt sales that Lionel Messi's switch to Paris Saint-Germain and also bested another previous record holder, NFL star Tom Brady and his 2020 move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
According to Love The Sales (via Manchester Evening News), Ronaldo shirt sales actually generated a whopping £32.5m in just the first 12 hours across all the platforms on which it was available.
Should those figures be true, it means United will have pocketed a cool £3.25m from the sales as part of the agreement with kit sponsors which sees the club bring in 10% of all shirt sales.
That adds up to about a quarter of the initial fee paid for Ronaldo, while it also surpasses the £2.5m owed to Juventus in this year's instalment.
Ronaldo could make his second debut for United in Saturday's meeting with Newcastle United, where he will at the very least be presented to his new supporters for the first time.
Source : 90min