"?More than ever, football is as much about the brands behind the teams as it is about the teams themselves.
With Nike moving to dominate the football landscape, let's take a look at a hypothetical Nike-based team for this Saturday's UEFA Champions League final.
"?If there's a man in football who truly needs no introduction, it's probably Cristiano Ronaldo. In this season of all seasons, when he was written off early on as being 'past it', his 16 goals in 11 UEFA Champions League games have been delivered with a snarl.
Atletico would do well to be wary of that snarl. Ronaldo is a man who knows that his time at the top is slowly dwindling away, and will be mindful of the fact that he's still never had the moment that true greats so often provide. Single-handedly dragging his team past one of the world's most vaunted defences might just do it for him.
Not just the stand-out goalkeeper under our criteria specifically, Oblak probably has as good a claim as anybody to be named the goalkeeper of the tournament. He's been that good. Eight clean sheets in 12 games in the competition this season, anyone?
The only time Atletico might be slightly concerned by Oblak's form is if the final goes to penalties, with the Slovenian failing to save any of PSV Eindhoven's eight spot-kicks in their round of 16 match, and the shootout only ending when Luciano Narsingh hit the bar to send the Spanish side through.
He did save an in-match penalty against Bayern Munich in the semi-final, though.
You really don't have to look far back in history to be reminded of the impact that Sergio Ramos can have on a UEFA Champions League final. Just ask... well, Atletico, actually. They were the victims of Ramos' 93rd minute leveller in 2014.
He's been a key man in the Real defence this season, with his team conceding just two goals in the nine games he's started. His weak point? A tendency for hot-headedness which saw him sent off twice in successive league games in March and April.
Not quite as impressive a record in this season's competition as the relative veteran Ramos, but Real have kept clean sheets in six of the seven UEFA Champions League games that the 24-year-old has started this season - the only blip coming in a bizarre 4-3 win over Shakhtar.
Carvajal has featured more in Real's European campaign than their domestic efforts towards the end of this season, but he's rarely been anything other than entirely solid.
José María Giménez
Speaking of excellent young centre-backs, the 21-year-old Uruguayan Giménez has built himself quite a reputation for somebody so young, especially in a position where experience tends to be almost a prerequisite at the very top level.
A pair of fighting performances against Bayern showed that his youth and relative inexperience - he's still played fewer than 50 senior league games - is no particular obstacle.
It would obviously be very silly to say that Casemiro is Real Madrid's most important player. And yet...
When somebody like Cristiano Ronaldo is out of the team, there are a handful of other top-notch attacking talents available. The replacements aren't as good, but they can still do the job so the gameplan doesn't fall apart.
Casemiro, on the other hand, is almost irreplaceable in this Real side. He's the gritty rock in midfield who allows the rest of the team to flourish - just take a look at the league win over Barcelona this season. Which makes him the perfect foil for...
Now the wrong side of 30, but no less metronomic with age. In both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League this season, Modric averages a pass completion rate of over 90%. That'd be impressive for anybody, but it's not like he restricts himself to simple passes, either.
His performances have even picked up slightly towards the end of this season, but it's to the start of the campaign where Atletico might be looking as they prepare for Saturday's clash, remembering Modric's man of the match performance against them in early October.
Saúl Ñíguez
Some of Atleti's stars really are disgustingly young, aren't they? Saúl Ñíguez is another top-class 21-year-old at the club's disposal, and he's kept some of his very best performances for the Champions League this season.
Equally at home playing through the middle or out wide, the highlight of his tournament thus far was his third goal in the competition - a brilliant, jinking run through a veritable flood of Bayern defenders before a clipped finish past Manuel Neuer. The real deal.
Something of a wildcard for 2014's beaten finalists, the 22-year-old Belgian's place in the side depends largely on whether Koke starts out wide or in the middle. For all that, he could fly ever-so slightly under the radar when it comes to Real's defensive planning.
If he doesn't start, expect to see him emerge from the bench if Atleti have to go looking for a goal later on, his reasonable pace making him a useful impact sub.
It's always tricky to decide whether or not to call Isco Real's forgotten man, really. He's featured in the vast majority of the club's games this season - that's a tick 'against', if you're wondering - but he never really seems to get the credit he probably deserves.
Not as flashy as some of his teammates, with the kind of beard once aptly described as a "face bear", he's nevertheless a more than handy part of Los Blancos' team. Underestimate him at your peril.
Jesé
"?Another player who, like Atletico's Carrasco, may well not start - and could be all the more dangerous for it. And that's not just idle fact, it's rock hard speculation (ahem).
You want the numbers? When Jese has started this season for Real, he's averaged a goal every 329 minutes, and provided assists at the same rate. Off the bench though, that drops massively, to one of each every 127. Late supersub in extra time? Don't count it out.
"?"?