Nike is the most represented brand at the 2017 Ballon d'Or

Besides Christmas and New Years’ Eve, the end of 2017 will present another great appointment for all football enthusiasts: the Ballon d’Or award. It’s true that in the past few years the competition lost some of its charms, but from last season it got back on top, mainly for the decision to leave the prize to its original owner, France Football, and not FIFA. Other than being a prestigious award for footballers - with Cristiano Ronaldo that look the favorite for his fourth award in the last five years - the honor also goes to the brands that represent them.

And after the announcement of the thirty finalists for the final prize, with connected discussions about the included and excluded, we can now weigh which brands are the most represented and no, this isn’t going to be a surprise. Nike, in fact, is worn by 18 of the 30 finalists for the Ballon d’Or, and of course by the favorite and four-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo. adidas comes next, with nine athletes among the thirty. PUMA has to settle for Buffon and Griezmann, that still are two players that will likely make into the final shortlist for the win. There’s also a vacant spot, Paulo Dybala’s. La Joya, in fact, hasn’t decided his next technical supplier yet.

As for the football boots, the Portuguese trendsetter is always ahead, as 10 of the 30 athletes wear the Nike Mercurial Vapor. Following, there are the adidas X, confirming the finalists’ preference of football boots dedicated to the fastest players. It makes sense, as many of them are strikers. The Nike Hypervenom (4 athletes) are the only silo with more than one or two athletes. We only have to see - and we’ll probably see it - if Nike will be the brand of the best player of the year once more.