Weekly Newsletter

Messi is so good he’s automatic. When he plays you know that no one is going to really be able to stop him; sure he might mess up, but the amount of times he’s going to be tackled, have his pass intercepted or take a bad shot are too few to mention. It’s hard to balance incredibly ability, unpredictability, and consistency in the way Messi has. That balance is what has made Messi the player he is today, and that balance is manifested in Messi’s signature pass. 

Rayane Bounida is ridiculously good at soccer. It’s comical. He’s 9-years-old and makes you wonder if he is even aware of the level of embarrassment he puts defenders through on what seems to be a daily basis. Honestly if someone told me that this kid jumps out of bed in the moring and nutmegs his teddy bear I would believe them. He’s the most amazing youth soccer player I’ve ever seen.

There’s something incredibly satisfying about seeing Neymar get embarrassed by someone, anyone. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s usually the one doing the embarrassing, and that he’s getting so good at it that it’s scary, and that makes it satisfying to see the tables turn. It reminds people that he’s not superhuman, just really-really-good-human. Neymar gets embarrassed by freestyler Sean Garnier in the vine below, and it’s petty, but no one ever said petty couldn’t be satisfying. 

Meet Luka Romero. He's 11 years old and is from Durango, Mexico. Some people think he might be the next Messi.

Diarios en Mallorca publican al pequeño Luka, nacido en Durango. @rafaramosESPN @ESPN_JorgeRamos pic.twitter.com/piJ86fyAbh

— MoraPicos (@MoraPicos) November 11, 2015

While many soccer brands have been around since the early 1900s, jersey and individual player sponsorship slowly emerged in the mid-century. Iconic European companies like Umbro and Adidas were early player favorites but, in recent years, global behemoth Nike has set their sights on becoming the biggest brand in soccer. Last year, the American company put out one of the best soccer commercials which included some of the world’s most popular players like Ronaldo, Neymar and Rooney.