The Lionel Messi x Adidas Samba ‘Cloud White’ was bound to happen sooner or later. After winning the 2022 World Cup for Argentina, making the move to Inter Miami, and bringing home the team's first League Cup trophy ever, La Pulga has long cemented himself as one of the greatest football players in history. So, collaborating with one of the greatest football sneakers of all-time seems like a no-brainer, really.
Working on top of a ‘Cloud White’ leather foundation, the trainer is overlaid by light grey suede along the toebox. Purple ‘Energy Ink’ accents feature on the heel badge and Three Stripe branding – a homage to the Argentinian national team's away kit (which was also made by Adidas, FYI).
“Samba” is stamped across the lateral sidewall in a shiny, shiny gold (just in case you needed a reminder), while Lionel Messi's “M” logo features on the tongue tag in neon green. All of this is tied together with a pair of all-white cotton laces, and it sits on top of a fully gum rubber midsole.
These days, most Sambas feature basic rubber midsoles that are slightly textured for added grip. Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But when this model was first introduced back in the late ‘40s, it debuted with a gum unit so that footballers could train even on the iciest terrains. Messi’s edition goes back to the silhouette's OG origins, and is a reminder that – while it's absurdly popular with East London menswearheads who mainline natty wine – at its core, it's still a football shoe, through and through. It's also proof that endemic Samba fever isn't dying out anytime soon.
The Lionel Messi x Adidas Samba ‘Cloud White’ is expected to release very soon at Adidas and select stockists globally, and will set you back around £100.
