Nike’s Air Jordan Brand Is Winning Over European Soccer Fans

On a crisp November night in Paris, Kylian Mbappe flashed down the soccer field and passed the ball to his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar, who finished off the run with a crusher into the net. Then the French sensation took the Brazilian hero on his back, and together the two global megastars relished their goal—joined by the image of a third icon, albeit a long-retired one from a different sport: Michael Jordan.

The U.S. basketball legend and his iconic jumpman logo on the jerseys of soccer stars may seem an unlikely pairing, but it’s part of a bigger push by Nike Inc. to test new marketing tactics in its perennial battle with Adidas AG—particularly on the latter’s European home turf. Nike is diversifying its brand to reach a younger audience and establish a stronger following in European hot spots such as Paris, one of the world’s leading fashion hubs, and Berlin, the region’s capital of cool.