Ajax's Starlet Bounida Wears Adidas Boots for Club and Nike for Country
Ajax starlet Rayane Bounida is experiencing a rather unique situation regarding his boots as despite being a Nike-sponsored athlete, he also wears Adidas cleats.
Bounida Wears Adidas Boots at Ajax Despite Under Contract With Nike
The 17-year-old wears Nike cleats when playing for his national team but at his club, Ajax, he rocks with Adidas boots. This situation happened in the summer of 2022, right after he joined The Amsterdamers from Anderlecht Youth Team.
Bounida has signed with Nike since he was still only 13 years old, so in theory, he should be using the American brand exclusively from that moment on. However, that’s not the case following his move to Ajax as at the club he must play wearing Adidas gear, including boots.
Ajax's Deal With Adidas Forced Bounida Not to Wear Nike Gear at the Club
The reason is that due to their contract agreement with the German sportswear, the Eredivisie side must have all of their academy players use Adidas gear on the pitch. That rule creates a unique situation for Bounida as he’s currently playing with Nike Mercurial with the Belgium national team but uses Adidas Speedportal when playing with Ajax.
Fortunately, it looks like the two major companies are allowing that situation to happen as that’s what Bounida has been doing. It’s certainly an uncommon situation, especially since there are not many young players already signed a personal contract with a major brand.
At the moment, the 17-year-old is handling the situation pretty well, knowing that things will certainly change once he breaks through into Ajax’s senior team. However, before that happens, Bounica will have to continue his duality in using Nike with the national team and Adidas with Ajax.
What do you think about Bounida's odd boots situation? Share your comment below.
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