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#9 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is arguably the most colorful and pleasantly controversial person in football right now. The Swede, who has a knack for calling himself the best, spent most of his career wearing Nikes, scoring flashy, important goals in them.
Ibrahimovic was part of the famous Nike commercial “Risk Everything” before the 2014 World Cup. The current AC Milan man was one of the main protagonists alongside the likes of Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ibrahimovic, who is currently 40 years old, has won 11 league titles and a Europa League title in his career.
#8 Carles Puyol
Carles Puyol may not have been as marketable as some of the other names on our list, but he sure is a legend of football.
The lion-hearted captain of Barcelona has gone into battle countless times over the course of his career, usually wearing a pair of Nike cleats.
Puyol made his Barcelona debut wearing the black and white Nike Mercurial. Soon after, he was signed by Japanese brand Mizuno and wore their offerings for three years.
He returned to Nike after running down his contract, famously picking up the Total 90 boots. Eventually, he switched to Nike Tiempo boots and wore them until the last match of his career.
#7 Sergio Busquets
Sergio Busquets is an icon in Spanish football. Busquets, who won it all with Barcelona and Spain, possesses unmatched vision, finesse and passing range, making him one of the best in history.
Getting him on its books was important for Nike, but, surprisingly, Busquets did not wear a pair of Nikes on his debut for Barcelona.
Busquets wore Puma’s King Exec football boots in his first-ever match for Barcelona. Quickly realizing his potential, Nike swooped in and tied him down for good.
Currently, Busquets is a proud Nike ambassador and wears a pair of custom Magista cleats.
#6 Sergio Ramos
Former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is one of the most decorated players in football. Realizing the potential of the player, Nike tied him down to a 10-year-deal way back in 2006.
Eventually, Ramos won four Champions Leagues, two Euros, and even the World Cup, becoming one of the best defenders in the world. Nike extended his contract in 2016 for €2milion per year, keeping him for four more years.
After the contract expired in 2020, Ramos moved to rivals Adidas for a more lucrative deal.
