PSG invested $30 million as a sign-on fee for Messi and a reported $41 million, plus bonuses in annual salary. It kicked off a debate about the actual worth of a 34-year-old player.

The fees invested in his services have got to do with his brand value, as much as it has to do with his capabilities as a footballer. It raises questions of how value is placed on players, and how investment rakes in profit for football clubs.

The simple answer is the sale of jerseys, and in the first 7 minutes of signing Messi, PSG reported sales of more than 150,000 jerseys with the No 30 (Sports Bible). The cheapest of these shirts were sold at $179. These sales were made without Messi kicking a ball.

An offshoot of this move is that Michael Jordan has raked in $5m from Messi’s transfer. This is because of a sponsorship deal between Jordan’s company (A sub-brand of Nike) and PSG.

On top of all these, TV rights were sold as soon as Messi went to PSG. This is apart from existing deals. Gerard Pique (Messi’s ex-teammate) bought the sole rights to show the French league in Spain. Rights for the French league is becoming a high-value commodity because of this single transfer move.

The ripple effect of Messi’s transfer shows the ins and outs of how the sports investment runs as a multi-billion dollar industry that yields dividends over time. Sometimes, in no time at all. (Michael Jordan’s $5m in the time it took PSG to sell 150,000 shirts)

According to Brand Finance, Messi’s departure from Barcelona could cost the club $132M in brand value. That estimate amounts to an 11% loss in brand value (which is what Messi alone contributed to the value of the Barcelona FC)

The value placed on Messi is based on revenue generation, on-pitch value, and match-day revenue. This estimate rings true for me. I have not subscribed for my Cable TV since Messi left Barcelona. I was subscribing to watch La Liga, and Messi’s departure has devalued the Spanish league.

All of these point to the need to study and understand a market or brand before investing. The outlay by PSG may have seemed outlandish, given that Messi was a free agent, but the investment is already yielding results, according to Nasser Al-Khelaifi (PSG’s President)

Here is the lesson for me: Investment is spending, and one must be as shrewd as possible when investing. Understand the market and have financial projections. What do you aim to achieve? How do you aim to achieve it?