2 La Liga championships, 2 Spanish Super Cups, the only player to score the winning goal in the 2022 Champion League final.
Those are noble moments that any professional player aspires to possess. Yet at the age of 22, Vinicius Jr. has all of the above titles and is still constantly improving to become the world’s top striker.
With such a promising future, why is a superstar player still under contract with Nike until 2028 not wearing the company’s latest version of the Mercurial Vapor 15 as of now? Still continuing to carry the Vapor 14 version released 2 years ago.
So what happened between Nike and Vinicius Jr?
If you’re observant, you won’t see the appearance of Vinicius Jr. in Nike’s entire advertising campaign during the last World Cup season. From the promotional video to the photo set introducing Brazil’s soccer uniform, the young star completely disappeared.
This goes against Nike’s tradition of building images for football talents. It further confirms the rift between the two sides that has existed for a long time.
After the World Cup ended, some sources said that the young Real Madrid striker and his representative were completing legal procedures to terminate his contract with Nike early.
The old contract had 5 years left before it expired, and they were signed when Vinicius Jr. was still just an emerging phenomenon at Flamengo at the age of 13.
Nike must have confidently predicted Vinicius Jr.’s future, but perhaps it was his explosive success at Real Madrid that led him to become a name that could be placed on the same plate as Erling Halland or even MBappe. made it impossible for Nike to react in time to treat him according to his current position.
Vinicius Jr. realizes that, and he has expressed his disappointment many times, even last February in the match against Valencia, he played in all-black shoes without any logos. up there.
This move is like the last straw for the relationship with Nike and is also an announcement for other giants, Adidas or Puma, to join the race to sign the young Brazilian striker.
Nike has not made any moves yet, however, experts with a more strategic perspective have made many somewhat correct observations.
They think that Vinicius Junior’s ego tells him to fight for his position, and Nike has a reason to properly use the ecosystem of superstar players they own.
Tim Crow – a sports marketing expert said:
“Nike certainly has a ranking list based on the reputation of the players, and when utilizing them for global marketing campaigns, Nike must ensure that the favorite players they select to appear on worldwide, must be faces with truly outstanding coverage.
That’s why, in the recent World Cup campaign, we had Cristiano Ronaldo, Mbappe, Kevin De Bruyne,… the brightest stars whose reputation Nike is confident will attract millions of fans around the world. around the world, and their image will contribute to bringing optimal value to the company.
Vinicius Jr. has been having brilliant performances in La Liga, his name can spread throughout Europe, but in reality, he still does not have the so-called global appeal.
However, no matter how much analysis is given to defend either side, Vinicius Jr and Nike will have to meet in court… Where it will be decided that he will stay at Nike with a new contract, worthy of his current position.
Or he will break his contract, become a free player, then lean back in his chair, looking at the blockbuster contracts that Adidas or Puma have planned to prepare for him… And of course, the contract. He must be worthy of the Brazilian soccer star, the future leader of Real Madrid.
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