adidas F50 Messi "Triunfo Dorado"

The Adidas F50 Messi "Triunfo Dorado" ("Golden Triumph" in English) is the signature boot that marked Lionel Messi's return to the F50 silo (the football boot franchise most closely associated with his rise to global stardom) after adidas had shelved the F50 name for roughly nine years in favor of the X and Nemeziz lines. Released in June 2024, "Triunfo Dorado" arrived directly alongside adidas's broader relaunch of the F50 franchise and was designed specifically to be worn by Messi and Argentina as they defended their Copa América title, with the tournament hosted on U.S. soil in June–July 2024. It is historically significant both as the first Messi-specific F50 boot of the revived era and as the boot in which Messi helped Argentina win the 2024 Copa América, extending his run of major trophies with the national team following the 2021 Copa América and 2022 World Cup.

adidas officially reintroduced the F50 franchise in May 2024 with the "Fast Reborn" collection (a Unity Purple, Lucid Lemon and white colorway referencing the 2010 "Chameleon" pack), which Messi first wore on May 19, 2024, ahead of the F50's full commercial relaunch. His personal "Triunfo Dorado" signature edition followed shortly after, releasing at retail on June 19–20, 2024 (sources give both dates, with June 19 cited by Soccer Reviews For You and June 20 cited by Bolavip), timed deliberately to coincide with Argentina's opening participation in Copa América 2024, hosted in the United States from June 20 to July 14, 2024. Messi and Argentina went on to win the tournament, beating Colombia 1-0 after extra time in the final on July 14, 2024, giving Messi back-to-back Copa América titles and a fourth major trophy with the senior national team following the 2021 Copa América, the 2022 World Cup, and the 2022 Finalissima.

"Triunfo Dorado" was built on the newly relaunched F50 platform, which adidas engineered specifically around raw speed. According to SVP of Product and Design Sam Handy, the revival was a response to "modern-day football so dominated by tactics, statistics, and often rigid tactical structures" where "sometimes out-and-out speed is the only way of breaking the game." The new F50 generation introduced a Hybrid Touch upper combining synthetic suede with a foil material for a soft, controlled feel at the vamp and reliable ball contact even at high speed, alongside a redesigned "burrito"-style knit tongue engineered to match Messi's own preferred on-pitch fit. Independent technical reviews of the wider 2024 F50 Elite platform (which shares its core chassis with the Messi editions) recorded a weight of roughly 186 grams for a US size 9, a narrow/slim fit best suited to players who prefer a snug lockdown, a compression-fit tunnel construction in place of a traditional lace/tongue system on some variants, and a soleplate drawing on lineage from the X Speedflow's stud configuration while echoing the traction geometry of Messi's classic "Gambetrax" outsoles from his earlier F50 Adizero years. Notably, SoccerBible reported that this was the first retail F50 Messi boot to carry exact design specifications matched to Messi's actual personal, match-worn footwear rather than a purely marketing-driven signature colorway.

The boot's defining aesthetic element is its gold metallic upper, paired with Footwear White and Core Black accents and white three stripes: a Gold Met/Ftwr White/Core Black colorway explicitly designed to evoke Messi's history of golden-themed signature boots. adidas and multiple outlets described the design as inspired by the F50 Prime from the 2014/15 season (the year of Messi's Champions League/La Liga/Copa del Rey treble with Barcelona), tying the current release back to one of the most decorated boots of his club career. Coverage from Bolavip further noted the gold theme deliberately referenced a lineage of prior Messi "golden boot" releases: a gold pair from 2010 following his first Ballon d'Or win, another gold F50 from 2014, the 2021 Copa América "El Retorno" gold boot, and the 2022 World Cup "Leyenda" gold boot, positioning "Triunfo Dorado" as the newest entry in that golden trophy-boot tradition. A matching signature adidas Samba sneaker was released in an inverted black-and-gold colorway as a companion lifestyle piece.

adidas framed the boot's launch explicitly around Argentina defending its Copa América crown, releasing it as the team traveled to the United States for the tournament and tying the gold color story to Messi's "reigning champion" status across multiple competitions. The official adidas football messaging accompanying the release read: "crest on the heart, boots in gold. ready. let's go!", a short, campaign-style line emphasizing patriotism and readiness ahead of the tournament. Reporting also framed the launch against the backdrop that, given Messi's age at the time (36–37), this could plausibly be his final Copa América or major international tournament appearance, adding emotional weight to the golden, trophy-referencing design. Because it also served as the flagship signature boot for the F50 franchise's full-scale return, "Triunfo Dorado" carried extra significance for adidas as a statement that Messi (the player most identified with the F50 name historically) was once again its face.

Messi and Argentina wore the boots throughout their successful Copa América 2024 title defense, culminating in the July 14, 2024 final against Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, which Argentina won 1-0 in extra time via a Lautaro Martínez goal. Messi did not finish the final: he suffered a non-contact ankle injury in extra time, was seen in tears on the bench, and had to be substituted off, but Argentina held on to win the trophy without him on the pitch for the closing stages. The tournament nonetheless extended Argentina's run of major titles under Messi's captaincy. Sources reviewed did not specify individual goals Messi scored while wearing this exact colorway during the group stage or knockout rounds, though the boots were confirmed as his tournament footwear for Copa América 2024 by both SoccerBible and Bolavip.

"Triunfo Dorado" is the homecoming boot: the F50 name back after nine years, in gold, on Messi's feet as Argentina defended the Copa América on US soil, and won it, even as Messi limped off in tears in the final. It matters for players too, because the 2024 F50 Elite underneath is one of the best-reviewed speed boots of its generation, with a soft Hybrid Touch upper and a burrito tongue built to Messi's own spec; the recurring caveat is a narrow, slightly long fit that punishes sizing down. As a collectible, a gold F50 tied to a trophy Messi actually lifted is about as safe as modern Messi boots get.