Cristiano Ronaldo versus Lionel Messi. It seems like the soccer world has debated these two for a millennia. It’s no surprise, to be sure, with the two playing for storied and rival clubs in Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively. However, the rivalry also extends toward sports marketing – and the heavyweights in soccer, Nike and adidas.
With the European Championships right around the corner, kit manufacturers have begun releasing the official Euro 2016 kits for participating national teams.
Some of these designs will have you checking your bank account for expendable cash, while others will invariably have you adjusting your television’s color settings come June.
Here's a look at some of the threads the world's greatest will be sporting in France.
Spain Euro 2016 Kits
While many soccer brands have been around since the early 1900s, jersey and individual player sponsorship slowly emerged in the mid-century. Iconic European companies like Umbro and Adidas were early player favorites but, in recent years, global behemoth Nike has set their sights on becoming the biggest brand in soccer. Last year, the American company put out one of the best soccer commercials which included some of the world’s most popular players like Ronaldo, Neymar and Rooney.
Most kids, when asked what they want to be when they grow up, will give you a different answer every time you ask them. Not Lionel Messi though. He wanted to be a footballer.
"I've never thought of any other job."
Wouldn't we all like to say that? Some of us grow up wanting do do only one thing from a very young age. Very few of us actually get to become that thing, and certainly the odds are against it.
Barcelona are limping through the season, without Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, relying on depth that might not exist. The roster looks very different, and so do their jerseys. That last bit could change yet again if these leaked Barcelona kits are to be believed.
Last week, EA Sports released its new "Play Beautiful" commercial for FIFA 16 and, boy, is it a star-studded affair.
We could try to do justice to the ridiculousness of it by describing the celebrity players featured – Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Alex Morgan, Kobe Bryant to name a few – and stream-of-conscious flow of the action. But, instead, we'll just let you watch and bask in the awesome over-the-top-ness of it all.
Your flight to Heathrow is arranged. You have packed a primary umbrella, a backup umbrella and an emergency umbrella. You have your Oyster card ready to use on the Tube. Plans have been made to visit a proper chipper (fish and chip shop). I highly recommend Golden Union near Liberty of London. Fantastic! A trip to the British Museum is on the agenda. As are many visits to pubs.
As if there was ever a dull moment in the world of FIFA these days; issues revolving around the 2018 and 2022 World Cups continue to get worse. The laborers involved with constructing the Russian World Cup stadiums have come out saying they haven’t been paid for their work in months.
Adidas just made a really cool commercial with Messi, but the commercial's intended message will shock you.
Don't worship Messi, make your own path. That's what Adidas wants. Adidas is sick and tired of people worshipping the athletes it pays untold millions of dollars for in exchange for those athletes endorsing Adidas's products, and Adidas can't take it anymore.
Just watch:
FOX Sports just got a whole lot more German.
The Bundesliga and FOX Sports have agreed to a deal in which FOX will either televise or stream every single Bundesliga game this upcoming season. Of the 306 Bundesliga games, 58 will be shown on FOX SPorts 1, 60 on FOX Sports 2, and the rest streamed on FOX Soccer Plus.