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With the coronation of Erling Haaland at the Golden Boy 2020, Nike has quite simply demonstrated that it is the number 1 brand among young people.
For a few weeks now, we have been wondering what is going on with Nike. In addition to the departure of Neymar in September, Robert Lewandowski and Raheem Sterling (to name a few) also appear to be on the verge of leaving the American brand to engage with other equipment manufacturers. Departures which could therefore prove to be important if they were to become official and which are at the very heart of several questions from market observers. What if the Nike boat was rocking? What if his number 1 place in football was compromised? The classification of the Golden Boy 2020 seems to give a completely different view of the situation.
9 Top 10 players in Nike crampons
Since 2003, the Golden Boy has been crowned the best player under 21. After having elected Messi, Rooney, Pogba, Sterling or even Gotze, it was Erling Haaland who received the trophy for 2020. A fully deserved reward for this player who has panicked the counters since his hatching at RB Salzburg. If in the past, this nugget stood out thanks to studs on which the Nike swoosh was carefully hidden, it has since fallen into line and is displayed as the new face of Nike’s football strategy. It is also not insignificant that the American brand offers him the opportunity to embody the Dream Speed range alongside Kylian Mbappé and Cristiano Ronaldo. A strong choice and above all a nice nod to the future.
Because if we come back to the case of Neymar or Robert Lewandowski, besides the fact that they are two monsters of world football, it is impossible to put their ages aside. Obviously, both players still have many years ahead of them, but what has long been Nike’s strength is its ability to pull off the best young players before everyone else. To put numbers on this reality, just look at the Top 10 of the 2020 Golden Boy rankings. Nine of the top ten players are under contract with Nike and the first athlete outside Nike is in ninth place. If Nike is therefore losing some athletes and emblematic faces, the fact that the brand is also present among the players who will be the footballers of the next fifteen years is anything but a coincidence. Bet on the future today to shine tomorrow, this is what Nike Football does perfectly. If the Mercurial range is once again the queen of this classification (and as is often the case when we talk about the classification of crampons), it is interesting to note that many so-called “speed” shoes are visible. In addition to the Mercurial at Nike, it is the Furon at New Balance which appears just like the X Ghosted for adidas. It should also be noted that the Nike Phantom GT manages to carve out a small place with four ambassadors in this ranking.
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The cleats of the best players under 21
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| Player | Club | OEM | Model |
| Erling Braut Haaland | Borussia Dortmund | Nike | Mercurial Superfly 7 |
| Ansu fati | FC Barcelona | Nike | Mercurial Vapor 13 |
| Alphonso Davies | Bayern Munich | Nike | Mercurial Vapor 13 |
| Jadon Sancho | Borussia Dortmund | Nike | Mercurial Superfly 7 |
| Eduardo Camavinga | Rennes | Nike | Phantom GT |
| Dejan Kulusevski | Juventus | Nike | Mercurial Vapor 13 |
| Phil Foden | Manchester City | Nike | Phantom Venom |
| Dominik Szoboszlai | RB Salzburg | Nike | Mercurial Superfly 7 |
| Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | New Balance | Furon v6 |
| Vinicius Junior | Real Madrid | Nike | Mercurial Vapor 13 |
| Ferran Torres | Manchester City | adidas | X Ghosted.1 |
| Mason Greenwood | Manchester United | Nike | Phantom GT DF |
| Sandro Tonali | AC Milan | Nike | Phantom GT |
| Sergino Dest | FC Barcelona | Nike | Mercurial Vapor 13 |
| Ryan Gravenberch | ajax Amsterdam | adidas | Nemeziz 19.1 |
| Rodrygo | Real Madrid | Nike | Phantom GT |
| Jonathan David | Lille OSC | adidas | X Ghosted.1 |
Haaland, Fati, Sancho, Camavinga, Davies. The future of Nike ambassadors looks bright. It remains to be seen whether among these young talents, some will be able to take the place as quickly as that taken by Mbappé in just two years. For that, it will be necessary to shine quickly. Because if they are the future, it’s hard not to think about tomorrow. Nike has already done it since the brand has already secured the long-term services of the prodigy Youssoufa Moukoko. He too wears the Mercurial Vapor 13 and he too could embody the brand in the future.
Featured photo credit: Twitter @ErlingHaaland
