Lamine Yamal is a world champion at 19 years old.
It took Lionel Messi, his direct rival in Spain’s 1-0 World Cup final triumph against Argentina yesterday, until he was 35 to achieve the same feat.
Ahead of the match in New Jersey, the narrative was that this would be either a passing-of-the-torch moment or the godfather of soccer reasserting his supremacy.
In the end, both Messi and Yamal actually put in relatively quiet performances. Spain’s Ferran Torres scored the only goal of what was a turgid, ugly game.
The Spanish, most agreed however, were worthy champions as the curtain came down on what was, in many ways, a one-off World Cup.
On the pitch, the action has rarely disappointed. Off it, the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico has been relentlessly and shamelessly monetised and left a sour taste for the beautiful game’s purists. But commercially, the tournament has been a riotous success.
Tickets have changed hands for wild prices, with FIFA taking a cut every time. Media rights and viewing figures swelled to record highs. Merchandise sales and sponsorships broke records, too.
And in that last category, one major victor from the World Cup final was set in stone well ahead of kick off.
Sales soar ahead of all-Adidas World Cup final
Together, Adidas, Nike and Puma supplied the uniforms for three-quarters of the competition at the World Cup.
Once the group stages were over, Adidas had six teams left, Nike eight and Puma seven. In the semi-finals, it was a straight Nike-Adidas shootout. But Spain and Argentina, both Adidas-sponsored, prevailed.
Whoever supplies the kits for the World Cup champions benefits from a huge spike in sales. When Messi and Yamal, both Adidas athletes, are the protagonists, the effect is amplified.
And given that Adidas are a primary sponsor of the World Cup too in a deal believed to be worth around $800m, they were easily the most visible brand at the final at MetLife Stadium.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Adidas said they are expecting revenues from the tournament to come in at about $1.3bn. They also revealed that they had sold four times as many shirts leading up to the final and twice as many of their match ball, the Trionda.
Of the Adidas-sponsored teams, Mexico sold the most shirts ahead of the final, followed by Argentina and Spain. It remains to be seen whether the Spanish, buoyed by lifting the World Cup, ultimately come out on top.
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