Wow. When we heard the rumours of Neymar Jr. potentially joining PUMA we were excited, now it's happened we're all in! PUMA are doing so well in terms of closing the gap to Nike and adidas, with this signing moving the Big Cat even closer to the top.
Neymar had a long and successful relationship with Nike which we were very much a part of. You couldn't help but feel though that his story with Nike had been done to death, with some of the recent signature edition mercurial's starting to blend into one another from a story telling perspective. That's not having a go at Nike either, we just felt that they'd covered all the bases.
Now Neymar in the prime of his career does things his way, in the most Neymar possible way, choosing PUMA but not one of the silos you'd expect in the Future or Ultra, no, no, Neymar has chosen the King Platinum to kick things off. A surprising decision that is Neymar to a tee. He shoots his own path and it's going to be massive for the fastest growing brand in football.
“Neymar Jr. joining our PUMA Family is fantastic”, said Bjørn Gulden, CEO of PUMA. “He is one of the best players in the world and extremely relevant for the global football and youth culture. We are very excited and look forward to working with him both on and off the pitch.”
It's a wonderful move for football purists when you consider Neymar's idol, the great Pele, wore Puma King all those years ago. He wasn't the only icon of the game who did though, with Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff and a whole host of others staring in one of the most iconic, arguably THE most iconic boot of all time (sorry Copa Mundial fans - we did say "arguably"). Now it's Neymar's turn to enter the history books in the all-time classic.
In a message to his fans on his social media channels entitled “The King is Back”, Neymar touched on the impact that those great have had on his life, and his decision to follow in their footsteps by partnering with PUMA.
“I grew up watching videos of great football legends such as Pelé, Cruyff, Eusebio and Maradona,” Neymar said. “These were the kings of the pitch, the kings of my sport. I wish to bring back the legacy that those athletes created on the pitch. They each played in PUMA, and each of them created their magic in The KING.”
He continued: “Every time I lace my boots, my KING boots, I will do anything to achieve all of my dreams to honour my name and that of all those great ones who wore the KING before me. This will be my PUMA history. The KING is back!”
With Neymar comes endless possibilities from a product point of view. What kind of story telling will occur, will we see some wild apparel collections and possible collabs with other celebrities? It's exciting the think about and we'll be the ones to bring them to you. Another big question remains in terms of will Neymar stick to the King long term? Or is this just a short term hype piece before moving into Future or the all new Ultra?
Let us know what you think of the big move in the comments. If you'd like to join Neymar in PUMA you know what to do. See you at Ultra HQ or online!
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