Demand for Messi, Mbappe soccer gear spikes after World Cup

LONDON : In the wake of Sunday's World Cup final soccer fans around the world have rushed to buy merchandise, with demand for Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe soccer club jerseys more than tripling, sports merchandise retailer Fanatics Inc told Reuters.

Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties after a dramatic 3-3 draw, with Messi scoring twice and France's Kylian Mbappe netting three times. It was Argentina's first World Cup win since Diego Maradona hoisted the trophy 36 years ago.

Global sales of soccer gear were up more than 700 per cent for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar versus the 2018 World Cup in Russia across the Fanatics network of online stores.

Fans flocked to buy Nike-brand Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) soccer club jerseys, with sales in particular for Messi and Mbappe jerseys on the official PSG online store surging by more than 200 per cent on Sunday.

Messi, Argentina's 35-year-old team captain, said the final would be his last match in the World Cup, though he intends to play a few more games for the national side.

Mbappe also shone with three goals in the game, becoming only the second hat-trick scorer in a World Cup final after England's Geoff Hurst in 1966.

Fanatics, which operates the official online Paris Saint-Germain store, said 40 per cent of all PSG sales on the day came from the United States.