In Qatar, in the middle of the fight for the sixth World Cup in Brazil, Vinicius Júnior broke out against Nike, sponsor of the footballer and the Canarinha team. The Real Madrid player had arrived at the World Cup as one of the fittest forwards on the planet, but he did not appear in his brand's promotional ads before the tournament, where the stars were Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Virgil Van Dijk, and neither He had a special edition of shoes for the appointment, as other colleagues did receive. In addition, within the Brazilian expedition, of which Nike is also an official sponsor, Vinicius was left out of the presentation of the shirt and some official posters. Neymar, Marquinhos, Richarlison or the Real Madrid player Rodrygo passed him. The anger was such that he wanted to change sponsors, initiating contacts and getting very close to signing with Puma.
Five months later, everything has changed between Nike and the Brazilian, and not just because of football. The war against racism that Vinicius has been leading all season has made the brand reconsider, which has in the defense of the rights of minorities one of the great banners of its management. After the racist insults suffered by the Brazilian at Mestalla and the worldwide defense he has received, the American company has made Vinicius one of its most important athletes. What football did not do, racism has done.
“Stop looking the other way,” read the billboard posted by Nike on its social media this week, showing its support for the Real Madrid striker.. “We are all with you,” added the organization in another post.
Nike is the brand of anti-racist symbols such as Serena Williams, LeBron James, Tiger Woods or Colin Kaepernick, the NFL star who ended up out of the league after kneeling during the American anthem in protest against police abuse. He supported his athletes during Black Lives Matter and his campaigns, especially in North America, have always sought something beyond pure sport.
Outside the United States, however, Nike has always found it more difficult to link the success of its stars with involvement in social struggles.. The list of great athletes of the brand is immense, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Rafa Nadal, Luka Doncic or Giannis Antetokounmpo as the main stars, but hardly any, just the Greek as an exception, have really been involved in the anti-racist fight. Vinicius has offered them that and Nike, who forgot about him a few months ago, now forces a reunion.
Contract until 2028
Vinicius, born in 2000, has worn Nike since he was 13 years old and has a contract with the brand until 2028, although before the Mestalla incidents, the Brazilian's representatives and the American organization's lawyers had to face a trial to see if said contract was still in force or not. From Vinicius's environment, annoyed by everything that had happened in the World Cup, he made sure that said contract could be terminated prematurely, with Puma's offer on the horizon. “Vini wants a brand that values him more worldwide,” sources close to the player admitted to this newspaper in February.
At that time, the Brazilian came to hide the Nike symbol on his shoes, using completely black ones as pressure, and had decided to go with Neymar to Puma. The German brand was not going to pay him the same as his compatriot, but it was going to improve what he received at Nike and it was going to position him as the organization's great asset for the future. After the goal in the Champions League final and two seasons in which he has exceeded 20 goals and 18 assists in each one, Vinicius considered that he deserved more prominence. Adidas, who dresses Madrid and is Nike's great rival, tried to sign him, but lost the race. Even so, seeing the star of the whites far from his competitor made up for him. He already suffered enough during the Cristiano Ronaldo years.
Nike, meanwhile, bet everything on Mbappé and Haaland, who in April signed a contract with the brand for the next ten years at a rate of 22 million per year. The spotlights were for them. But Mestalla appeared, the culmination of all the incidents suffered by Vinicius in recent months in Spanish soccer. And then came the sentence of the trial between Nike and Vinicius’ lawyers: he had to stay with the American brand until 2028.
What at first could have been a problem for the Brazilian has become a turning point. His insistence on denouncing racism has struck a chord with the brand that most exploits that struggle. Vinicius has publicly and privately thanked Nike and its stars for their support in recent days, is already negotiating a contract upgrade to Haaland’s level and is preparing with the brand several advertising campaigns against racism.