You will never guess the best-selling jersey in MLS

Over the weekend, MLS released some interesting data on jersey sales for the biggest football league in the US, which is not always accessible to other European leagues. But since MLS, like all US leagues, has a single technical sponsor for all teams - adidas - it is easier to get aggregate data that paints a diverse picture but contains few surprises. Although Lionel Messi only joined Inter Miami in July and has only played a few minutes in the league, his pink jersey is the best-selling in MLS, probably well behind the second, that of St Louis City's João Klauss. We assume this because MLS only reported the top 25 positions and not the number of jerseys sold, but Messi's impact on US football was much more important than just numbers. Sold-out stadiums, Hollywood stars in the stands and pink jerseys everywhere are testament to how Messi changed the global perception of MLS in a very short time.

As already mentioned, the Brazilian footballer from St. Louis City is in second place, while Hany Mukhtar, striker from Nashville SC, completes the podium. The following places are occupied by names better known to the European public, such as Sebastián Driussi, veteran Carlos Vela and Thiago Almada, the reigning world champion with Argentina. Off the TopTen are Javier 'Chicharito' Hernández, Sergio Busquets, Riqui Puig and Josef Martínez. Xherdan Shaqiri rounds off the top 25. This ranking shows the influence Inter Miami has in the public eye without being noticed on the pitch, and that football jerseys are becoming a real lifestyle item in the USA as well. It is also worth highlighting that both the Seattle Sounders FC and St. Louis City have three footballers represented, which testifies to the great football enthusiasm in the two cities. The figures refer to sales in the official MLS store in the period from 1 January to 12 September.