Lionel Messi is one of the greatest footballers of all time, and his World Cup boots reflect who he is as a player.
Lionel Messi has won everything — club championships, Champions League trophies, the Ballon d’Or. He’s won it all, even the World Cup trophy.
On his fifth try at the coveted World Cup championship with Argentina, he has also expressed multiple times that this will be his last appearance in the tournament ever. In other words, this marked his last chance to win the title that has eluded him four times in the past — he has been successful, but it was not an easy road.
Coming into the 2022 World Cup, Messi was a man on a mission. And every man on a mission needs to have the best gear possible. Lionel Messi had just that.
Messi’s football boots are always a point of discussion, simply because everyone wants to know what one of the best players in the world wears on the pitch. And for this, his final World Cup, he’s sporting a special edition of the adidas X Speedportal.
Here’s what you need to know about his custom boots.
1. They are very personal
When football players are out on the pitch, many of them want to carry personal pieces that help keep them motivated throughout an entire match. For this World Cup, Messi is keeping his family close to him through his boots.
Printed on the outside of the right boot, he has the names and birthdays of his two eldest children. His eldest Thiago was born on November 2, 2012, and is now 10 years old, and his second son Mateo was born on September 11, 2015, and is now seven — these numbers are represented below the right shoe collar.
On the other side, he also has the name and birthday of his youngest son Ciro, who is only four years old. Below Ciro’s name and birthday, he also has his wife’s nickname, “Anto”, printed on the boot.
To top it all off, Messi’s number 10 is printed on both boots — a number that many football fans around the world associate with the Argentinian legend. With all these subtle yet incredibly personal and motivating details, it’s no wonder that even at his age, Messi was still moving magically on the pitch at the 2022 World Cup.
2. They pay tribute to his career
Apart from the details on the shoe that reflect Messi’s personal life, his World Cup boots represent his incredible history as an athlete. The gold is a very clear reference to Messi’s illustrious career — all the records he has broken and the trophies he has accumulated. But on top of that, the blue, white, and black details also represent the colors of the Argentinian flag, the country he has proudly represented his whole life.
These details come off as rather obvious. But, a little less known, is that the design of these boots is actually a tribute to the design of Messi’s boots in 2006: the year he made his World Cup debut.
16 years later, he is on his final World Cup appearance, and even the details are coming full circle.
3. You can buy your own pair
For all the Lionel Messi fans out there, the best news is that you can own a pair of his X Speedportals yourself.
Although they are currently sold out, adidas released the X Speedportal Leyenda on their website for around $355. This is equivalent to about PHP 20,120.
These football boots are definitely not the cheapest on the market. But if Messi does well in the World Cup, chances are that the price of these boots will get even higher, becoming something of a collector’s item.
After all, as Messi’s last World Cup boots, they will carry the memories of his legacy as a football player even long after he retires from the sport.
Banner image from adidas Football on Twitter.
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