PARIS: Neymar started repaying his mammoth transfer fee on the day he was introduced as Paris Saint-Germain’s marquee summer signing with the club selling more than 10,000 shirts bearing his name on Friday.
The 25-year-old Brazilian was signed from Barcelona for a world record 222-million euros ($264m) but with shirts emblazoned with his name and No 10 on the back selling at an average of 100 euros, PSG generated 1 million euros on his first day.
If PSG can keep that up, they would have recouped the transfer fee by mid-March, within the first season of Neymar’s five-year deal – although in reality that revenue is shared with shirt manufacturer Nike, meaning it would actually take twice as long to pay for the player.
Such is the demand for the shirt at one of two PSG stores, on the iconic Champs Elysees boulevard and the team’s outlet at their Parc des Princes home, that shoppers on Saturday will be limited to a single jersey each.
Neymar is due to be unveiled to the PSG fans on the Parc des Princes pitch on Saturday at 3.45pm (1345 GMT) ahead of their opening Ligue 1 match of the season against newly-promoted Amiens at 5.15pm.