The VERSUS team break down the future of boot deals and take a closer look at football’s “brand wars”, following a string of big money moves from the game’s biggest players.

New Balance just levelled up and signed the Premier League’s biggest starboy in Bukayo Saka, PUMA shocked the world last year when they broke the bank to bring Neymar to the Big Cat, Nike are shaping up for a new era with Kylian Mbappe and Jadon Sancho as the heirs to the throne, and adidas are preparing for life without Leo Messi, while their partnerships with clubs like Juve and Arsenal remain some of the most innovative in the game.

We explain how and why some of the brands have made the moves they have over the past 12 months, which ballers will follow Ronaldo and Messi as the poster boys of the game, and why football still needs a Joga Bonito comeback.