Manchester United and Real Madrid sit atop of the global shirt sale charts with 1.4 million shirts sold per season on average over the past five years.

United and Madrid are two of the three teams that have managed to surpass the one million mark between 2007-08 and 2011-12, with Spanish titans Barcelona completing the top three with 1.15m shirts sold per annum.

England have four teams in the top 10, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal accompanying Manchester United, while Juventus, Inter and AC Milan represent Serie A. Bayern Munich complete the top 10 in fifth position.

All of the teams in the top 10 either wear Adidas or Nike jerseys, with both brands having five representatives in the list.

The figures, which were published by Sportingintelligence, have been compiled by veteran analyst Dr Peter Rohlmann and his team at the consulting bureau, PR Marketing,

*Shirt sales (official merchandise) only. Does not include other club merchandise.

EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey ¦ Chief Correspondent

Liverpool and Manchester City lead the chase for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, Goal.com has learned.

The Premier League big hitters have both made enquiries for the 19-year-old and are weighing up whether to follow up their interest with bids.

Arsenal are also tracking the England Under-21 international but Goal.com understands they are currently considered outsiders in the race to capture one of the hottest prospects from the lower leagues.

Zaha has been a first-team regular at Palace since he was 17 and a key figure in the team’s run of four consecutive league wins, scoring doubles in each of their last two matches.

Liverpool are long-term admirers of the Football League’s 2011-12 Young Player of the Year and there is now growing interest in the starlet from Premier League champions City.

Anfield manager Brendan Rodgers is desperate for more wide options after selling Craig Bellamy, Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez last summer.

The Merseysiders tried to capture Daniel Sturridge on loan and Theo Walcott in the final week of the August window and will attempt to sign a first-team forward in the January window.

As revealed by Goal.com last Friday, Rodgers is an admirer of highly rated PSV Eindhoven winger Dries Mertens and Zaha, who can play either wide or through the middle, is also high among his list of potential targets.

Palace are likely to cash in on their prize asset either in January or next summer, with the bidding expected to start at around the €12.5m mark.

Zaha signed a new five-and-a-half year contract last December, which ties him to Selhurst Park until 2017.

He is the latest Palace Academy graduate to attract the attention of the big Premier League clubs, following John Bostock, Victor Moses and Nathaniel Clyne.

Wales boss Chris Coleman has claimed Joe Allen was born to play at the highest level after the Liverpool midfielder was named Welsh Player of the Year on Monday.

Allen has enjoyed a meteoric rise during the past 12 months, establishing himself in the Premier League with Swansea before winning a maiden international start against Switzerland in October 2011.

His performances for club and country earned him an €18.5 million move to Anfield during the summer and his achievements have now been recognised by the Football Association of Wales.

And Coleman was quick to express his admiration for the 22-year-old, who was also named club player of the year, insisting it was clear from a young age that he was destined to make his mark at the top.

“I can remember Joe when he first came through at Swansea when he had only just turned 16 – you could see even then he was going to be a real player,” said Coleman.

“You could see the talent he had and it’s brilliant for everyone that he’s showing just how much he has.

“What helps is that Joe is such a great character, very humble, lot of humility and never someone who gets carried away. He’s doing terrific, a super little player who is important to us.

“Of course, the last 12 months have been incredible and he’s made huge strides – but he was born for it. He was born to play for a club like Liverpool and excel, and he deserves all the success he’s been getting.”