Top 10 Football Clubs with Highest Jersey Sales and Popularity Worldwide

Bayern Munich is a sports club based in Munich, Germany, best known for its professional football team playing in the Bundesliga, the highest division of the German football league system, and is the most successful club in the history of German football, with 32 national championships and 20 national cups, along with numerous European honors. The club was founded in 1900 by 11 football players, led by Franz John. The club had its most successful period in the mid-1970s under the management of Franz Beckenbauer, winning the UEFA Champions League three times in a row (1974-1976). Overall, Bayern has reached the UEFA Champions League final 11 times, most recently winning it for the 6th time in 2020 and part of a continental treble, becoming the second European club to achieve back-to-back trebles. Bayern has also won 1 UEFA Cup, 1 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, 2 UEFA Super Cups, 2 FIFA Club World Cups, and 2 Intercontinental Cups, making it one of the most successful European clubs internationally and the only German club to win both international competitions. With the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup, Bayern München became the second club to achieve the sextuple.

Since the 2005-06 season, Bayern has played their home matches at Allianz Arena. Previously, the team played at the Olympic Stadium in Munich for 33 years. The club's colors are red and white, and its emblem features the white and blue colors of the Bavarian flag. In terms of revenue, Bayern München is the largest sports club in Germany and the fourth-largest football club in the world, generating €629.2 million in 2019. As of November 2019, Bayern had 293,000 official members and 4,499 officially registered fan clubs with over 358,151 members. The club has other sports teams such as chess, handball, basketball, gymnastics, bowling, table tennis, and a legendary football team with over 1,100 active members. As of May 2021, Bayern ranks first in the UEFA club coefficient rankings.

According to statistics from Euromerica Sport Marketing, Bayern Munich is the club with the highest jersey sales in 2021. Specifically, the team at the Allianz Arena reached the milestone of selling 3.25 million jerseys in 2022.

Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Manchester United or Man Utd, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Nicknamed the Red Devils, the club was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, changed its name to Manchester United in 1902, and moved to its current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910. Manchester United is one of the most successful clubs in England, holding the record for 20 English football championships, winning 12 FA Cups, 5 League Cups, and maintaining the record for 21 Community Shield victories. The club has also won 3 UEFA Champions League titles, 1 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, 1 UEFA Europa League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup, and 1 FIFA Club World Cup. In the 1998–99 season, Manchester United became the first and only English club to achieve the treble, winning the Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League.

In 1968, under the management of Matt Busby, Manchester United became the first English club to win the UEFA Champions League. Manager Alex Ferguson secured 38 trophies during his tenure from 1986, including 13 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups, and 2 UEFA Champions League titles, before retiring in 2013. The most recent head coach of the club is José Mourinho, appointed in May 2016. Due to the team's poor performance on December 18, 2018, the club terminated the contract with him, bringing in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a club legend, as interim manager. After notable performances with MU stars, he was officially appointed as the head coach.

Manchester United ranks second in the world in revenue for the 2013-14 season, with an annual revenue of 518 million euros, and third in the world in team value in 2015, valued at 1.98 billion USD. As of June 2015, the club has the largest football brand value globally, estimated at 1.2 billion USD. It is one of the teams with the largest fan base worldwide. These factors have contributed to MU's staggering jersey sales, making it the fourth-best-selling team in the world.

Chelsea Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, London, England. Established in 1905, the club currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Chelsea is one of the most successful clubs in England, winning over 30 honors, including 6 national championships and 7 European titles. Their home ground is Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea secured their first major title, the Football League championship, in 1955. The club won the FA Cup for the first time in 1970 and their first European title, the Winners' Cup, in 1971. After a decline in the late 1970s and 1980s, the club experienced a revival in the 1990s and achieved more success in cup competitions. The past 25 years have been the most successful period in Chelsea's history: they won five Premier League titles, seven FA Cups, four League Cups, one FIFA Club World Cup, ten UEFA Champions League, and two UEFA Europa League titles. Chelsea is one of five clubs to have won all three main UEFA club competitions, the first English club to achieve a treble in UEFA competitions, and the only London club to win the Champions League.

The home kit colors for Chelsea are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. The club's emblem features a fierce lion holding a scepter. Based on references, the club ranks sixth in fan base size in England. In terms of club value, Chelsea is the sixth most valuable football club in the world, worth £2.13 billion (2.576 billion USD), and the eighth-highest earning football club in the world, with revenue exceeding 428 million euros in the 2017–18 season. As a club with a significant global fan following, Chelsea has sold a remarkable 1.34 million jerseys, placing them in the top 7 globally.

Football Club Barcelona, commonly known as Barça, is a highly successful football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded in 1899 by a group of football players from Switzerland, England, and Catalonia, led by Joan Gamper. Barcelona's motto is Més que un club (More than a club). The home ground is Nou Estadi del Futbol Club Barcelona, commonly known as Camp Nou. Domestically, Barcelona has won a record 75 titles: 26 La Liga, 31 Copa del Rey, 13 Supercopa de España, 3 Copa Eva Duarte, and 2 Copa de la Liga, holding records for four of these competitions. Internationally, the club has won 20 European and worldwide titles: 5 UEFA Champions League, 4 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, 5 UEFA Super Cup, 3 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, and 3 FIFA Club World Cup. Barcelona topped the rankings in international football statistics and history for 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2015 and currently holds the third position in the UEFA club rankings. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid, and their matches are known as El Clásico.

Barcelona is one of the most widely supported teams globally and has one of the largest social media followings in the world among sports teams. Barcelona's players have won a record number of Ballon d'Or awards, including Johan Cruyff, as well as FIFA World Player of the Year awards, with winners such as Ronaldo, Romário, Ronaldinho, and Rivaldo. In 2010, three players from the club's youth academy (Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, and Xavi) were selected as the top three players in the world in the FIFA Ballon d'Or awards, an unprecedented achievement for players from the same football school. Additionally, players representing the club have won a record number of European Golden Shoe awards.

The characteristic colors of Barcelona are blue and red, leading to the nickname 'Barca' being 'Blaugrana' in Catalan, the term by which the club's players and fans are known. It is asserted that Gamper chose the two colors based on the traditional colors of his hometown club, FC Basel, a Swiss team where Gamper played before coming to Barcelona. Narciso Masferrer announced the selection of traditional colors and the name for the club, as agreed, the full name of the club is Futbol Club Barcelona, and their traditional kit colors are royal blue and red. As the highest-paid sports team in the world, in November 2018, Barcelona became the first sports team with an average player salary for the main team exceeding £10 million (13.8 million USD) per year. Due to the greatness of achievements and the stars of Barca, the team's jerseys were sold in large numbers in 2022, reaching 1.34 million jerseys.

Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly known as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris SG, or simply PSG, is a professional football club based in Paris, France. Formerly the multisport Stade Saint-Germain club, Paris Saint-Germain was officially established in 1970 and currently competes in Ligue 1. In the top tier of French football, Paris Saint-Germain has clinched the championship 10 times. The club has also secured the runner-up position 9 times, notably in the 1992–1993 season when Paris Saint-Germain declined the title after Olympique de Marseille was stripped of the honor due to a scandal.

With cup competitions, the club boasts 14 victories in the French Cup, 9 triumphs in the French League Cup, and 10 French Super Cup titles. On the European stage, Paris Saint-Germain's most significant achievement is winning the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1996 and finishing as runners-up once in the UEFA Champions League. Representing the 'City of Lights,' the PSG playing kit predominantly features the colors blue and red, corresponding to the city's flag. The club's current home ground is Parc des Princes, located in the 16th arrondissement next to the Boulogne forest, with a capacity of 47,929 seats.

Paris Saint-Germain boasts a squad comprised solely of world-class stars and is the strongest team in the French national championship. The formidable allure created by PSG has led to an increasing fanbase. The prestige and greatness of PSG have made teams worldwide wary, and their attacking prowess instills fear. The overwhelming factors have resulted in a tremendous surge in PSG fans, and the sale of PSG jerseys is substantial. The revenue from PSG jersey sales has reached 1.18 million jerseys, ranking 9th globally.

BV Borussia Dortmund is a sports club based in Dortmund, north of the River Rhine, known as one of Germany's famous and successful football clubs alongside Bayern Munich, Hamburg SV, and Borussia Mönchengladbach. With 8 German national championships and 5 DFB-Pokal victories, Dortmund also won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1966 (becoming the first German team to claim a continental title) and secured the UEFA Champions League title in 1997.

Borussia Dortmund is one of the most accomplished and traditionally rich clubs in Germany. However, it wasn't until the 1990s that the team gained significant global recognition under the shadows of Hamburg SV and Borussia Mönchengladbach, especially FC Bayern München. Dortmund's arch-rival is FC Schalke 04, known as the Revierderby (Ruhr Derby). Additionally, there is the Borussia Mönchengladbach, referred to as the Borussen derby.

Currently, Dortmund is the third-largest club in Germany with 145,000 official members and the 11th worldwide. The main advertising partner and jersey sponsor for Dortmund are Evonik. Signal Iduna, an insurance company, holds the naming rights for Signal Iduna Park until 2021. Puma has been the official kit supplier since the 2012–13 season, with the contract extending until 2025. The club announced a deal with Opel to become the first sleeve sponsor starting from the 2017–18 season. As a major and historically significant team in Germany, Dortmund has a massive fanbase not only in Germany but worldwide. Whenever Dortmund plays, the stadium is filled with the distinctive colors of the team's jerseys. Due to the club's impressive performance in European competitions, Dortmund's reputation and class have soared, making their jerseys highly popular. With a sales figure of 1.22 million jerseys, Dortmund ranks 8th globally.

Football club Manchester City, based in the city of Manchester, England, has won the English football championship 8 times, the FA Cup 6 times, the English Football League Cup 8 times, the English Super Cup 6 times, and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup once. The club plays its home matches at Etihad Stadium, with a capacity of around 55,000 spectators. Known as 'The Citizens,' Manchester City's traditional rival is Manchester United. Currently competing in the English Premier League, Manchester City achieved a remarkable feat in 2019, winning all domestic honors and becoming the first English club to secure a domestic treble. In the 2018-19 season, the club ranked fifth globally in revenue with 568.4 million euros.

Forbes estimated the club's value at $2.69 billion in 2019. Winning the Premier League and reaching the Champions League final significantly boosted Man City's revenue to 644 million euros in the 2020/21 season, a 17% increase from the previous year, according to KPMG. This includes broadcasting revenue, matchday income, and commercial revenue. The club's resurgence began after the appointment of Pep Guardiola as head coach in 2016, leading the team to three Premier League titles in five years. UEFA estimated a 9 billion euro revenue shortfall for European clubs between the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons.

According to KPMG, reaching the Champions League final last season earned Man City 129.5 million euros from UEFA. KPMG confirmed these figures with Man City. In summary, Man City's broadcasting revenue increased by 55% to 335.5 million euros. The recovery in broadcasting revenue helped offset losses from matches played without spectators. The impressive financial performance during their highest domestic triumph has led to an increased fan base, making Man City jerseys highly sought after. With 1.08 million jerseys sold, Man City ranks among the top 10 globally.