• Racism The Bernabéu covers Vinicius

In Qatar, in the middle of the fight for the sixth World Cup in Brazil, Vinicius Júnior exploded against Nike, sponsor of the footballer and the Canarinha national team. The Real Madrid player had arrived at the World Cup as one of the fittest strikers on the planet, but he did not appear in the promotional ads of his brand before the tournament, where the protagonists were Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Virgil Van Dijk, and did not have a special edition of sneakers. for the appointment, as other colleagues did. In addition, within the expedition of Brazil, 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 Real Madrid player Rodrygo passed him ahead. 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 only 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 flags of its management. After the racist insults suffered by the Brazilian in Mestalla and the world defense he has received, the American company has made Vinicius one of its most important athletes. What football didn't do, racism has done.

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Stop looking the other way," read the advertising poster published by Nike on its social networks this week, showing its support for the Real Madrid striker. "We are all with you," the organization added 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 backed 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 had a harder time linking 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 main stars, but almost none, just the Greek as an exception, has really been involved in the anti-racist fight. Vinicius has offered them that and Nike, which a few months ago forgot about him, now forces the reunion.

Contract until 2028

Vinicius, born in 2000, wears Nike since he was 13 years old and has a contract with the brand until 2028, although before the Mestalla incidents, the representatives of the Brazilian and the lawyers of the American organization had to face each other in a trial to see if said contract was still in force or not. From the environment of Vinicius, annoyed by everything that had happened in the World Cup, it was assured that this contract could be terminated prematurely, with the offer of Puma 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 of 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 he was going to improve what he received at Nike and was going to place him as the great future asset of the organization. After the goal in the Champions League final and two seasons in which he has surpassed 20 goals and 18 assists in each, Vinicius considered that he deserved more prominence. Adidas, which dresses Madrid and is Nike's great rival, tried to sign him, but lost the race. Still, seeing the white star away from his competitor compensated 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 annually. The spotlights were for them. But Mestalla appeared, the culmination of all the incidents suffered by Vinicius in recent months in Spanish football. And the judgment of the trial between the lawyers of Nike and Vinicius arrived: he had to stay in 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 found the brand that most exploits that struggle. Vinicius has thanked in public and in private the support of Nike and its stars during the last days, already negotiates an improvement of the contract at the height of Haaland and prepares with the brand several advertising campaigns against racism.

  • Real Madrid
  • Vinicius Junior

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