adidas Messi 16.1 "10/10"

The Adidas Messi 16.1 "10/10" is an ultra-limited, collector-grade boot released by Adidas in October 2016 as part of an annual "10/10" collector's series honoring Lionel Messi's status as football's preeminent No. 10. Built on the platform of the Messi16 boot line (commercially known as the Messi16.1/Messi16+ PureAgility silo), the 10/10 edition was not a performance-first release but a symbolic, scarcity-driven tribute piece, produced in a production run of only around 100 pairs worldwide, each individually numbered. It represented the second instalment of Adidas's Messi 10/10 concept, following an initial release the previous year (2015) that had launched from Adidas's flagship store in Barcelona. The 2016 edition matters in Messi's boot history as one of the earliest true "hype"/collector sneaker-style drops built around his signature line, blending streetwear-style scarcity marketing with football boot design years before that became a common industry tactic.

The boots launched on October 10, 2016, the date deliberately chosen to echo the "10/10" name and Messi's shirt number. Unlike the 2015 predecessor, which was distributed from Adidas's Barcelona flagship store, the 2016 pairs were released primarily in the United States: reporting at the time pointed to a pop-up store event in New York City's Lower East Side (cited as opening around 1pm on release day, with one source giving the address as 168 Bowery), alongside limited availability via Adidas.com (US only, no international shipping) and select US retail partners such as Soccer.com, which reportedly ran a lottery-style registration process for customers hoping to secure a pair given the extreme scarcity. Sources note that at the time of initial announcement, Adidas had not confirmed whether the New York event would mirror the flagship-store model used in Barcelona the year before, but subsequent reporting confirmed the NYC pop-up as the primary release point.

The 10/10 boot was built on the Messi16 platform, the boot silo Messi wore throughout the 2016 season, known commercially as the Messi16.1 (lace-up) and Messi16+ PureAgility (laceless). Sources differ slightly on which exact model the 10/10 used as its base, with some describing it as built on the PureAgility laceless construction and others simply referencing the Messi16.1 platform Messi himself wore in matches. As a special/collector edition, the boot did not introduce new performance technology; instead it applied premium cosmetic treatments to the existing Messi16 chassis, including a metallic-painted soleplate and metallic branding accents. It was produced in a single size only, EU 42.5 / US 8.5, matching Lionel Messi's own boot size, reinforcing its identity as a tribute/collector object rather than a mass-market performance product.

The 10/10 edition used a striking green base described by multiple outlets as evoking "Kryptonite" from the Superman mythology, fading toward an iridescent, shimmering effect around the heel and collar, with reported "splashes of green and purple" across the upper. The soleplate was finished in metallic paint, and the Adidas and Messi branding/logos appeared in silver metallic finishing for a premium look. Messi's signature was embossed on the interior/instep of the boot, and "10/10" lettering was stamped prominently on the heel, marking it explicitly as part of the numbered collector series.

The Messi 10/10 concept was conceived by Adidas as an annual celebration of Messi's legacy as, in Adidas's own marketing language, the greatest number 10 in the game. The 2016 release was framed by outlets as "the next checkpoint of the exclusive Messi series" and part of Adidas's broader "Limited Collection" strategy of using extreme scarcity (individually numbered pairs, single-size availability, pop-up-only distribution) to generate hype and collector demand, a marketing approach some commentary compared to the buzz generated by the earlier Ace 16+ PureControl UltraBoost release. Each pair carried an individual identification number (1 through 100), turning the boots into numbered collector's items akin to limited sneaker drops rather than conventional football boot retail products.

No sources found in research indicate that Messi wore the 10/10 colorway itself in a competitive match. The boot was explicitly a fan/collector release built in a single (Messi's own) size rather than a version supplied for on-pitch use, and was released as a retail collectible timed to the 10/10 date rather than tied to a specific fixture. No specific match, goal, or on-pitch moment tied to this exact colorway could be verified in the sources consulted; this should be treated as unconfirmed rather than assumed one way or the other.

The 10/10 was adidas running a sneaker-drop playbook on a football boot years before that was normal: around 100 numbered pairs of the Messi16 platform in a Kryptonite green fade, sold in a single size (Messi's own EU 42.5) through a New York pop-up and a US-only lottery on 10 October 2016. Nobody played in these and nobody was meant to; UK boot databases describe the 10/10 series as the Holy Grail of Messi collecting. The underlying Messi 16 platform was well liked by reviewers, but that's beside the point: this one is pure scarcity, and pairs essentially never resurface.