Lionel Messi has chosen Barcelona superstar and 9 other youngsters to wear his new Adidas F50 boots
Lionel Messi named Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal and nine other young emerging footballers to wear the new edition of his Adidas F50 boots. The Argentine has been sporting these signature Adidas cleats since the early days of his career.
On April 17, Adidas launched the F50 Messi boots in the La Vida Tropical edition. The new boots are turquoise and pink in color, representing the city of Miami. They also feature some new additions in their design, including a 'Messi + 10' sign denoting the ten young players who will be wearing them on the pitch. The cleats also include the iconic Messi logo on the heel counter and are designed using Adidas's F50 technology.
According to Versus, Lionel Messi has chosen ten young footballers to exclusively wear his signature boots on the pitch alongside him. The first to make it to the list is Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal, who's often hailed as Messi's successor in his boyhood side. The other youngsters are Caval Sullivan, Claudio Echeverri, Jaedyn Shaw, Antonio Nusa, Joel Ndala, Vicky Lopez, Kenan Yildiz, Assan Ouedraogo, and Eliesse Ben Seghir.
Lionel Messi's relationship with Adidas is a lifelong one. The Argentine first signed with the brand in 2006 despite Nike being the sponsors of his then-club, Barcelona. He signed a lifetime contract with the German sporting apparel giants in 2017. Adidas is also the official kit sponsor of Messi's national team, Argentina, and his current club, Inter Miami.
When Lionel Messi named Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal as the youngster who reminds him of his younger self
During an Adidas event in Germany in December last year, Lionel Messi was asked to name a current generation player who reminds him of his younger self. The legendary Argentine chose 17-year-old Barcelona star Lamine Yamal as the one, and said (via ESPN):
"If I have to choose someone, because of the age and because of the future that he has, I've heard that they have chosen Lamine Yamal and without doubt [it's him] for me, too. I agree it depends on him and many things because that's how soccer is, but he's the present and without a doubt has a huge future."
Much like Lionel Messi himself, Lamine Yamal hails from Barca's famed youth academy, La Masia. He made his senior team debut in April 2023 and quickly rose to become one of the most promising young footballers in the world. Pundits and fans have often compared his dribbling and playmaking abilities to those of Messi.
Yamal has been exceptional for Barcelona this season, contributing 14 goals and 21 assists in 45 outings across competitions. He also won the Golden Boy and the Kopa Trophy last year and was integral to Spain's victory in the 2024 Euros. The Spaniard was also named the Best Young Player of the tournament at the Euros last year.