Cristiano Ronaldo beats Lionel Messi after Manchester United return

Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? That question has raised a lot of debate over the years. They enjoyed an incredible competition for the top during their time at FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively. While Ronaldo is now at Manchester United and Messi at Paris Saint-Germain, they remain two of the best players in world football even in their mid-30s.

While they might not be in the same league anymore, with Ronaldo in the Premier League and Messi in Ligue 1, it looks like the competition between the two might carry on.

This time around, Ronaldo appears to be leading Messi when it comes to replica shirt sales. As reported by Love the Sales (via Daily Mail), the Portuguese superstar’s iconic No 7 shirt has brought in £187.1 million while the Argentine genius’ No 30 Paris Saint-Germain shirt has brought in £103.8 million.

Thus, while it has always been very close between the two on the pitch, it looks like Ronaldo has comfortably beaten Messi in this aspect.

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Ronaldo’s Manchester United return has beaten Messi’s PSG move when it comes to shirt sales

When you think about it, perhaps the result is a bit expected. At the end of the day, Manchester United have a bigger global fanbase than Paris Saint-Germain at this point of time.

Another thing that could have played a factor is the fact that Ronaldo returned to take up his iconic No 7 jersey while Messi will be donning No 30 for Paris Saint-Germain, a number that he has worn in the past but it is the No 10 that the Argentine is famous for.

The focus must now shift towards the action on the pitch though. Ronaldo could be about to make his second debut for the Red Devils very soon while Messi is coming off of scoring a hattrick for Argentina and might make his first start for Paris Saint-Germain in the near future as well.