Are There The Most Significant Boot Release Of All Time?

With Messi leading Argentina to World Cup victory, he cements his legacy as the best player to ever play the game. His performances throughout this tournament were on another level, producing some iconic moments and again proving he can do things other players just can’t.

With that in mind, we have to discuss his footwear. Right before the tournie began, Adidas announced that he would wear a special edition version of Speedportal.1, called “Leyenda.” Limited pairs were released to retail and sold out very quickly. The design is inspired by the adidas F30 boots that he wore at the 2006 World Cup. They feature a stretchy PRIMEKNIT collar for adaptive support, ultralight comfort and ease of entry. They are also made with a series of recycled materials, the upper features at least 50% recycled content. Underfoot they feature a Speedframe outsole, lightweight and flexible, the Speedframe outsole is designed for effortless acceleration – perfect for Messi’s style of play.

A few things to note here. We are pretty confident that Messi only wore 1-2 pairs right through the tournie, which makes those boots some of the most significant that we have ever seen. It would be difficult to put a value on them with what they represent and the moments they created. Second note, Messi’s pair were modified to his own unique standards, per the up close pic of them in the locker room before kick-off. So, even though there were pairs released to retail, the actual materials and styling was different to the signature pair Messi wore. In other words, his pair are truly one of the a kind, well actually maybe 10 of a kind depending on how many pairs adidas sent with him as back-up to Qatar.

Even so, the release pairs that sold out are now even more invaluable. Having a limited edition replica pair of the boots Messi was wearing when he won his World Cup, at what could be one of his last international tournaments, makes them an immediate collectors item. With a release price of $300, I’m sure there are many out there willing to pay double to get their hands on a pair now, and that will just go up as more pairs disappear into collections.

Final note – anyone notice that Messi was walking around the pitch post game without cleats on? I had wondered where his boots disappeared to, until the below picture appeared. Apparently he passed them over to the one person he trusts the most – his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo. Smart guy!

Find all other adidas X Speedportal options available at SOCCER.com.