Revealed: Messi's incredible impact on PSG's social media following

James Shearman

• Updated: 22 Dec 2021 14:49 CST
• 3 min read

Lionel Messi's move to Paris Saint-Germain is, arguably, the biggest 'free' transfer in the history of football.

For many, the Argentine is the greatest of all time, and it could end up being his only senior move from one club to another.

And Messi isn't just celebrated inside stadiums, he has a staggering 292 million Instagram followers.

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So, it comes as no surprise that the Barcelona legend has had a huge effect on his new club's social media profile.

And now, we can reveal just how much of an impact the seven-time Ballon d'Or has had.

Messi's impact on PSG social media

PSG's social media following grew massively in the wake of Messi's move from Barcelona.

In fact, the Parisien outfit gained approximately 20 million subscribers across all of their online platforms, according to Goal.

And since then, that number has increased by a further million each month, as more and more fans are intrigued by the legend in France.

Further, the club's sponsorship director Marc Armstrong has said "the community is at an all-time high, with 150 million social media fans.''

But, even more impressive is the record that was broken.

"We had the highest engagement rate in the history of player announcements, all club and player accounts combined," he added.

That said, perhaps the most extraordinary feat is how many followers have bought one of Messi's replica jerseys.

It is one thing to like Instagram posts or Tweets, but another to spend €100 on an item of clothing.

And over almost one million people have done just that.

In fact, Armstrong says the figure would have been much higher had it not been for the Covid-19 pandemic.

"He's a great asset. From a commercial point of view, the impact is incredible," Armstrong told GOAL.

“We believe that last year we sold more shirts than any other club, and this year will be even better. It's definitely the best jersey launch in terms of sales with at least a 30-40% increase in demand.

"The demand has been enormous. If we could produce more, we would sell even more."