Nike signed Messi when he was 14. They lost him over a few hundred dollars worth of tracksuits, a mistake now estimated at $10 billion in brand value. In 2005, Messi's father Jorge asked Nike for some extra tracksuits for his son, a routine request from the family of an 18-year-old who had just broken into Barcelona's first team. Nike's Iberian and South American offices both ignored it. He never got a reply. Adidas was paying attention. They offered around $1 million a year, and Nike refused to match because they didn't want a bidding war over a teenager. They were busy building their 2006 World Cup campaign around established stars. Once the Adidas deal leaked, Nike panicked and sued in Spanish court, claiming a binding contract. The judges found all Nike had was a "commitment letter" with no legal weight. Messi signed with Adidas in February 2006, and in 2017 they gave him a lifetime deal. So when he walks out at El Monumental on October 6 for his final Argentina match, in front of 84,000 people, the gold-lettered farewell jersey he revealed today will carry three stripes. Twenty years, 125 international goals, a World Cup, and every shirt sold along the way. All of it went to Adidas because someone at Nike didn't answer an email about tracksuits.