16 October 2004 will go down as one of the most important dates in football history, as seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi made his professional debut for Barcelona.
Messi, aged 17 and with floppy hair, replaced Deco in the second half of a 1-0 win over Catalan rivals Espanyol.
The Argentine entered the fray wearing the No.30 shirt and with Nike Total 90’s.
The image almost looks photoshopped given that Messi is the face of Adidas, who he has a lucrative lifetime contract with.
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He joined the German sportswear giants in 2006, although before to the World Cup in Germany, he had been with Nike since he was 14 years old.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s serialized book ‘Messi vs. Ronaldo: One Rivalry, Two GOATs, and the Era That Remade the World’s Game,’ Nike staged a photo shoot with Messi ahead of a proposed marketing campaign.
They did, however, receive a phone call from Messi’s reps requesting them to remove the photographs and alerting them that he had signed elsewhere.
According to the article, a crucial element in the transfer was Nike’s failure to meet a request for extra tracksuits from Messi’s father, Jorge.
Nike’s Iberian and South American divisions did not respond, according to the book, and the failure to meet demand’soured’ relations.
Nike also did not want to compete with Adidas in a bidding battle, which influenced the decision.
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