The Greatest of All Time Gets His Own Boots

While some may argue against his designation of "greatest of all time," there is no doubting that Lionel Messi is a truly brilliant player in a league of his own. Recognizing his greatness, Adidas felt that it was finally time to give the four time Ballon d'Or winner his own signature boot.

The Messi 15.1 is the first cleat ever created specifically for one player. Many players have worn special colorways of pre-existing boots, like Cristiano Ronaldo's CR7 Mercurials, but none have worn their own signature boot in the way that Michael Jordan wore his own Nike Air Jordans. The first release of Messi's boot comes in an Argentinian-inspired "Ice" Blue with yellow highlights. The boot features an exposed cage around the heel to create a locked-in fit, and the upper is comprised of the messiTouch material which improves grip, touch and comfort.

The Messi 15 boot will be available in The Soccer Shop and at eastcoastsoccershop.com in adult and youth sizes at two different price points for adults: the top-tier $220 boot (Messi 15.1) and the lower-tier $70 boot (Messi 15.3).

A Personal Flair: The Makings of a Soccer Player's Boot

When professional soccer players collaborate with big brands like Nike and Adidas to create their own signature boots, a lot more goes into the design than just choosing a pleasant color and pattern. Players try to make their cleats personal to their lives, as well as their careers.

Distinct Play and Design
Lionel Messi recently released the Pibe de Barr10 boot with Adidas. The design of the cleat aims to incorporate his childhood in the streets of Rosario, Argentina and his swift, unexpected playing style. In order to honor these two elements, Adidas and Messi called on a Rosario artist, Ignacio Valentini, to design the boot's detailed graphics. With the help of friends, they took pictures all around Rosario for inspiration, and Valentini gathered these aspects of the city to create a distinct design:

 “The neighbourhood was represented in the style of street art, reflected in every corner of the streets. The images were reworked with stencils, spray and roll in order to obtain a ‘street’ mood.”

Messi's playing style was represented by unexpected brush strokes, similar to his quick and fluid changes of direction on the pitch.

Perfect and Personal for Ronaldo
Ronaldo and Nike recently introduced the sparkling Superfly “Silverware” boot inspired by the silver trophies awarded to champions at season's end. While anyone can buy the CR7 Silverware Superfly, Ronaldo's personal boots have specific fit and design requirements. His Superfly is handcrafted in an exclusive boot factory in Montebelluna, Italy to ensure that the fit is as close to the natural shape of his foot as possible. It is also customized with a lower-cut collar and finished with a ‘Made in Italy’ red insole. 

In the Shop: Messi's Pibe de Barr10 boot is available in the shop in both adult & youth sizes. The CR7 Mercurial Vapor and Victory are available in adult & youth sizes. The shop does not carry the Mercurial Superfly pictured above.

Images courtesy of Adidas and SoccerBible.

Urban and Polished: Leo Messi & Adidas Release The Pibe De Barr10 Boot

Lionel Messi connected with his roots when developing the Pibe de Barr10 in collaboration with Adidas as a part of the #therewillbehaters series. Messi spent his childhood in the Barrio of Las Heras, Rosario learning the game on the streets and aspiring to be the best player in the world. Although he left Rosario in his youth, he still has a strong connection to the people, neighborhood, and spots where he first picked up the game of soccer. Messi wanted to incorporate his past influences into the design of the cleat with the help of Rosario-born artist Ignacio Valenti. The Pibe de Barr10’s graphics interweave urban brush strokes with the polish of Messi’s smooth playing style on the field.

Made for Control
While the graphics were inspired by Messi's past, Adidas has packed these boots with the industry's leading edge boot technology. The Pibe de Barr10 has a speed traxion stud alignment and an outsole modeled after a sprinter's spikes, giving players speed and agility on the pitch. The 360° DRIBBLETEX coating on the cleat gives total control on both wet and dry field conditions.  

Catch Messi and the Pibe de Barr10 in Action
Messi has had an outstanding season thus far. He has been  involved in 24 goals in La Liga this year alone, while other teams have yet to even score 21 goals. He will first show off his new boots on Wed. March 18th during the Champions League knockout stage.

In the Shop: Messi’s Pibe de Barr10 cleats are available in The Soccer Shop in both the 10.1 (previously labeled as the f50) and 10.3 (previously f10) tiers in adult sizing, and the 10.3 in youth sizes.

Images courtesy of Adidas except last image.