Even outside of football, Messi is one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. In fact, Cristiano Ronaldo has been known to discuss his adversary while gazing in the mirror.
The Argentina star recently appeared in Pepsi’s most recent World Cup advertisement, which is receiving almost as much accolades as Nike’s own performance from the 1998 World Cup.
It’s not surprising that sponsors would want the PSG attacker to be the focal point of their efforts and would be prepared to shell out a lot of cash to get the 35-year-old.
According to a new book, Lionel Messi switched from Nike to Adidas in 2006 as a result of a very trivial request from the then Barcelona star.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is well-known for his association with Adidas, but before the 2006 World Cup, he was with Adidas’s adversary, Nike according to SportBible
Despite his then-club, Barcelona, being with Nike, he left them for the German brand after being with the American company since he was 14 years old.
According to the book, which has been published in serial form by the Wall Street Journal, Nike held a picture session with Messi while developing their marketing campaign for the World Cup in Germany.
They then received a call from Messi’s agents telling them to stop using the photos and informing them that Messi had signed with their rival.
It appears that Nike neglected a request from Jorge Messi, the player’s father, to provide the forward with more tracksuits.
According to the book, the failure of Nike’s Iberian and South American offices to contact Messi Snr. was sufficient to “sour” relations between the player and firm.
The player and his father are claimed to have been further dissuaded from sticking with the organization that had previously sponsored them by their refusal to engage in a bidding war with Adidas after that.
Nike actually took the player’s allegation that they had a “binding agreement” with him to court in 2006, but they ultimately turned the issue up to Messi and Adidas.
The Spanish judges concluded that there was a “commitment letter” rather than a “binding agreement,” and Messi formally transferred to Adidas in February of that year.
Messi has worn Nike jerseys with Barcelona and PSG, the latter of which has an additional tie-in with Air Jordans, despite his own personal loyalty.
Given that his deal at Parc des Princes is set to end in the next summer and rumors that he wants to return to the Nou Camp, he might even move back to Barcelona then.
But before that, he will represent Adidas in Qatar as Argentina tries to end a 36-year World Cup drought.
