Nike wants Messi back (7 Feb 2006 19:02 GMT)
Nike Inc. said it plans to take "whatever measures necessary" after Lionel Messi, Barcelona's 18-year-old soccer playmaker, switched from the world's biggest athletic shoe-maker to endorse rival Adidas-Salomon AG.
"Nike has got a binding agreement with Lionel Messi," Nike spokesman Charlie Brooks said in a phone interview. He declined to discuss what "measures" the company is considering or the terms of the accord.
Messi last August became the youngest player to represent Argentina since Diego Maradona in 1977, and is in contention to play at this year's World Cup in Germany.
Messi has no plans to comment, his Barcelona team said.
Messi's father, Jorge, told Friday's El Mundo Deportivo newspaper the dispute would be resolved "wherever it has to be settled."
Messi first wore Adidas shoes for a game Feb. 1 after signing an accord through 2012, the paper said.
source : Edmonton Journal