adidas headquarters in Portland put on a huge Lionel Messi presentation as America prepares to finally welcome the soccer star with Sunday’s Miami unveiling
- Lionel Messi is expected to be unveiled by Inter Miami this Sunday in Florida
- And adidas is causing the hype at its US headquarters in Portland, Oregon
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Adidas’ US headquarters are ready for the unveiling of Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami. A photo of the building shows it adorned with a huge exhibition of the Argentine superstar.
Located in Portland, Oregon, Messi can be seen wearing a Miami jersey against a pink gradient background in a photo shared by Front Office Sports.
Ahead of Messi’s official unveiling this Sunday at DRV PNK Stadion, his signing was finally confirmed on Saturday by Inter Miami, who released a 40-second clip captioned (in Spanish) ‘Yes folks’.
Still, there was no doubt or concern about the move this week as he landed in Miami and was even spotted shopping at Publix with his family.
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Adidas’ appearance in Portland follows a billboard set up by Apple in South Florida.
A nod to Inter Miami’s color scheme and Messi’s perceived ‘greatest of all time’ status, Apple’s billboard features a pink goat next to the ‘Get Started’ message [Apple logo] TV.’
Apple inked a ten-year, $2.5 billion streaming deal with MLS this year, and the tech giant is expected to supplement a large chunk of Messi’s salary at Miami.
The world champion will reportedly earn between $50 million and $60 million a year in MLS.
There was also excitement for Messi, thousands of miles from his new home in Florida, when earlier this month adidas’ flagship store in New York’s SoHo was seen decked out in replicas of Messi.
The store displayed it both outside and inside the store, including the messages “Impossible is Nothing” and “Bienvenido (Welcome) to Miami.”
The windows of the adidas flagship store in New York are covered in replicas of Lionel Messi
A sign reads ‘Bienvenido A Miami’ above a photo of Messi and Inter Miami merchandise
Adidas are also believed to grant Messi a cut in merchandise sales, while Inter Miami are ready to give him an ownership stake if the 36-year-old eventually retires, according to multiple reports.
Messi is expected to be unveiled alongside his former Barca teammate Sergio Busquets, who has joined him in Miami.
Jordi Alba is also expected to join the club.
Messi’s much-anticipated debut for Miami comes on July 21 in the League Cup against Cruz Azul.
However, he won’t play against Charlotte FC in MLS until August 20.