Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami jersey has been dominating the local sports market since the Argentine superstar’s dramatic move to the Major League Soccer club and all three colors have spread throughout the country drastically.
The enthusiasm among the Argentina supporters in Bangladesh, arguably boasting the biggest fan base of the Albiceleste across the world, increased more than ever after the Latin American nation won the Qatar World Cup last year with Messi leading from the front.
Messi’s move to French giants Paris Saint Germain had also created the same hype but the football magician’s latest transfer surpassed the previous record in terms of jersey sales, stated the respective authorities in the sports market of Bangladesh.
The manufacturers have not only produced Miami jerseys for their own market but also exported to other South Asian countries, all down to the Messi factor.
A big amount of jerseys has also been imported from countries like China and Thailand.
The price of original jersey authorized by Miami, which can be bought through online shops, is unaffordable for majority of the people in the country and the quality of the products also differs accordingly.
There are commonly two types of jersey in the market in terms of quality – one that is imported and priced higher than the other made in local garments.
All three colors of Miami jersey – home, away and third kits – are available everywhere in the market.
Since the rumor began
The owners of sports jersey shops, who also have online service in the capital, told Dhaka Tribune that the demand for Messi’s new jersey began even before the Miami move was made official.
“There were more than 100 pre-orders for Miami jersey. When we received the first shipments, the demand was way more than supply,” said Abdur Rakib, co-owner of Jersey Addicts that claimed to have imported the jerseys from China.
Jersey Addicts has two kinds – player’s edition with price tag of Tk1,150 and fan’s edition at Tk850.
Rizwan Amin, the other co-owner of Jersey Addicts, informed that they have sold around 1,800 pieces of the same jersey to the people living in the USA due to its low cost.
“We received the pre-order since the rumors began. The number of Miami jerseys we sold this season is the highest since we started our business. Previously it was Messi’s PSG home jersey,” said Rizwan.
“There is no official shop for Miami’s original replica jersey here. The price is also expensive considering the financial condition of general people. So, the demand for authorized jersey is very low,” he added.
Shahed Ahmed of Jersey Fanatic, another jersey shop that also has online service, echoed the same sentiment.
He also admitted that Messi’s Miami jersey has been sold in record numbers since the transfer of the World Cup winning captain.
From screen to street
Jersey Fanatic sells locally made jersey whose price is less than half of the exported ones.
It supplied the fabrics and designs to a garment factory in Narayanganj and made it available for the fans at around Tk400.
The price usually goes lower in the jersey shops of street and footpath at many places where the low-income supporters can meet their desire to bring Messi’s new color home.
“Messi’s Miami jersey is the most sold one so far, even more than his Argentina jersey,” said Mohammad Yusuf while standing beside his roadside jersey shop in Gulistan where many such kinds are located on both the street and footpath, displaying Miami colors quite vibrantly.
These temporary shops sell all sizes of Messi’s new jerseys for kids, children, teenagers and adults.
They also collected the products from the local manufacturers.
The same dominance of Miami jersey was observed during a quick visit to the capital’s Vatara area where the shops and footpaths were filled with pink colors like never before.
Scene at sports markets
The sports markets in Dhaka responsible for distributing jersey across the country while meeting the demands of retailers and wholesalers have been no different.
Kabir Hossain, proprietor of Sports Vision, located on the first floor of Somobay Twin Tower Sports Market near the Bangabandhu Avenue, guesstimated the total number of Miami jersey sold at more than one million.
Pink, blue and black – all three colors of Miami jersey - were available but the home jersey attracted the most fans and there are also all sizes.
They have at least three different sizes for the kids only (six-12 years old).
The prices ranged between Tk300-500 for retailers and Tk100-300 for wholesalers with options for better bargain.
Almost all of them are home made.
“The demand was high during the first two months. It has spread everywhere in the country. We also export the Miami jersey to other countries including India, Nepal and Bhutan,” said Kabir.
“Messi’s jersey sale more than doubled than the time of his PSG stint. His popularity increased after winning the World Cup and the jersey demand just boomed after joining Miami,” he continued.
Messi on top
The next most jersey demands have been for Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo after they decided to ply their trade for Al Hilal and Al Nassr respectively in the Saudi Pro League.
Kabir gave a hint, saying: “If we sell 500 pieces of Messi’s jersey per day, the number is 300 for Neymar and 250 for Ronaldo. Overall, Messi is the best here.
“We had struggled financially during the pandemic (Covid-19) but we managed to survive because of Messi, also thanks to Neymar and Ronaldo for moving to Saudi Arabia.”
He also said they previously sold jerseys of World Cup-playing nations and European clubs based in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France before last season but this is the first time American and Asian club jerseys entered the local market.
Bangladesh Sports Goods Merchants Manufacturers & Importers Association’s president Shamim, who owns eight sport shops selling imported jerseys to both retailers and wholesalers, also confirmed that the business of Miami jersey has been on top since Messi kicked off his new venture.