It was a golden moment from the man in the golden boots. Lionel Messi, rolling back the years during Argentina’s 3-0 semi-final victory over Croatia in the 2022 World Cup semi-finals, showed Josko Gvardiol a clean pair of heels to set up Julian Alvarez’s second of the night during a crushing win at the Lusail Stadium on Tuesday night.
Messi will be donning his personalised footwear in the final this Sunday too, as the Barcelona legend looks to fill a giant World Cup-shaped hole in his otherwise remarkable trophy collection.
Lionel Messi’s World Cup boots explained
Before the tournament began, it was announced that the Paris Saint-Germain superstar would be wearing a unique pair of Adidas X Speedportal Leyenda boots in his fifth and final World Cup campaign.
Leyenda, in case you were wondering, translates as ‘legend’. Rather fitting, don’t you agree?
Instantly recognisable due to their gleaming, golden soles, the sides are also invoke subtle blue and white stripes. The colours of Messi’s native Argentina.
There are also references to his beloved family; the names and birth dates of his three sons – Thiago, Mateo and Ciro – engraved alongside that of his wife Antonella. The 35-year-old’s iconic ‘number 10’ is also visible on the instep.
Made up largely of recycled materials, Messi’s distinctive footwear, to quote Adidas, was constructed with the Albiceleste captain’s ‘effortless acceleration’ in mind. Complete with a ‘stretchy collar for adaptive support, ultralight comfort and ease of entry’.
There are no shoehorns in the Messi household.
‘Celebrate Lionel Messi’s glittering legacy’
“Only the very best get to wear golden adidas boots on football’s biggest stage,” Adidas’ official website explains.
“These special X Speedportal boots celebrate Lionel Messi’s glittering legacy. Inspired by details from the boots he wore on his big stage debut in 2006; a springy Carbitex carbon-fibre insert will help him launch his country towards a hat-trick of world titles.
“Made with a series of recycled materials, this upper features at least 50% recycled content. This product represents just one of our solutions to help end plastic waste.”
‘Damn you Lionel and your Carbitex carbon-fire inserts!’
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