Lionel Messi Brings His Golden Pedigree To The adidas Samba

A stacked awards cabinet imbues this pair.

Matt Varga November 25th, 2025 (updated)

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In the wake of Messi’s move to Inter Miami last year, adidas has emerged as a main beneficiary. Sporting both a sponsorship of the MLS club and a partnership with Leo, they’ve rolled out a ton of sneakers in commemoration including takes on the adidas Samba, adidas Gazelle and adidas Spezial. The latest iteration in that line odes to La Pulga alone, with Messi’s vaunted career inspiring a set of black & gold Sambas.

The inspiration for this pair reads the exact same as Lionel Messi’s career accomplishments; his eight ballon d’or awards, two Golden Ball awards, an Olympic gold, or perhaps most fitting, six Golden Boots. To that end, this colorway lets those accents take center stage, painting the Three Stripes logo and heel cup in reflective fashion. Outside of those sections, the classic Samba combination of a black upper and gum sole persists, still as appealing as ever in this dedication to the GOAT.

The Lionel Messi x adidas Samba releases on June 20th via Foot Locker; it will drop in men’s sizing ($100) and kids’ ($75.) Catch retail images just ahead to get a sense before the launch.

Sticking with the Three Stripes, the JJJJound adidas Samba appeared in a third “Mesa” colorway,

WHERE TO BUY

Mens adidas Samba "Lionel Messi"

SKU: IH8159

RETAIL PRICE: $100

RELEASE DATE: Jun 20, 2024

US 06/20/2024 Thursday

Retailer	Release type	Status
adidas US	Coming Soon	Coming Soon
DICK'S	Standard	Check Site
Foot Locker	Standard	Check Site

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Written by

Matt Varga, Junior Editor

Matt Varga is an Editor at SneakerNews. Initially earning a degree in Video Arts and Technology, he got his start in video editing and writing in the music world — primarily on hip-hop and electronic. A long-standing interest in sneakers led him to switching over to footwear. An avid collector, his favorite sneaker of all time comes down to either the Air Jordan 1 “Black Toe” and Air Jordan 5 “Laney,” his first ever pick-ups. When he’s not writing, you can find Matt cooking, traveling, attending concerts and when weather permits, on the handball court.