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Photo: si.com
On just poached Mbappé from Nike
Nike just lost its biggest footballer to a running brand, and the boot he's wearing doesn't even have a confirmed name yet.
All the looks
Photos: Footy Headlines
Club / player
Kylian Mbappé, 27, playing his football at Real Madrid, has ended his long relationship with Nike and signed with Swiss sportswear brand On. It's the kind of move that would be a minor story for most players. For Mbappé, who scored 42 goals in 43 appearances for Real Madrid last season and has 64 goals in 104 caps for France, it's a genuine shift in the balance of the boot market.
Brand
On has spent years building its name in running, all Swiss engineering and marathon marketing, and had zero presence in football until now. That changes with two moves at once: Mbappé's signature, and the appointment of Thierry Henry as Director of Football. Henry's exact remit hasn't been detailed publicly, but putting a former Arsenal and France striker in charge of football strategy signals a brand building an entire football division around him, not renting a superstar's face for a season.
Leak or release status
The boot itself is still in limbo, technically. According to Footy Headlines, the silhouette was developed under the codename 'Tango' and leaked well before any official unveiling. More recently, the same outlet reported the boot could launch under the name 'Cloudaura', though On hasn't confirmed either name. Mbappé has already worn the design in the real world and, per Footy Headlines, debuted it virtually too, appearing in an all-new On football boot in EA FC 27. Worth flagging: every detail here traces back to a single source, so treat the specifics as a strong lead rather than confirmed fact until On or Mbappé's camp speaks directly.
Visual description
Details on the boot's build are still filtering out through leaks rather than an official reveal, which is normal for a brand entering a new category through a marquee signing rather than a full product drop. Expect On to lean on the lightweight, cushioned know-how that made its running shoes a hit, translated into a football silhouette, but the final spec sheet isn't public yet.
Fan reaction
The reaction online has split roughly where you'd expect. Some fans see a running brand with no football pedigree buying credibility through Mbappé and Henry. Others point out that Nike and Adidas were once outsiders in categories too, and that a brand willing to hand its biggest signing to a World Cup winner clearly isn't messing about.
Our verdict
Henry's appointment is the tell here. Signing Mbappé buys headlines. Hiring a Director of Football buys a plan. On has genuine cushioning and lightweight-build expertise from its running range, and if that expertise carries over into a football boot that actually performs on grass, Nike and Adidas are staring at a rival with a World Cup winner's boots and a World Cup winner's boss.
Will On's football boot actually challenge Nike and Adidas, or is this just a marketing stunt?
Sources1 source
Footy Headlines
- [1] https://www.footyheadlines.com/6315945716/leaked-on-football-boots-codenamed-tango.html
- [2] https://www.footyheadlines.com/9553978627/kylian-mbappe-debuts-all-new-on-football-boots-in-ea-fc-27.html
- [3] https://www.footyheadlines.com/0466083566/exclusive-first-on-football-boot-called-cloudaura.html
Flagside's editors read every piece we publish. We work from the football press, write our own copy rather than reprinting anyone's, and check each article for accuracy and sourcing. Every outlet that fed into this piece is named under Sources.
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