Cristiano Ronaldo unveils new World Cup boot - Nike's Mercurial Superfly

Portugal’s football team forward Cristiano Ronaldo arrives to an interview during the presentation of new Nike football boots in Madrid.

Nike’s Innovation Summit at Madrid on Friday saw Cristiano Ronaldo strut down the walkway as he uncovered Nike’s latest technologically-upgraded boot; Mercurial Superfly.

The voguish boot is teemed with enhancements designed to improve comfort and performance. A key feature of the Mercurial Superfly is it’s Dynamic Fit Collar ‘designed for lock-down comfort at full speed’ along with the Flyknit Upper and Flywire Cables for flexible support on the ankles.

“It really allows the boot to be an extension of the foot,” said Phil McCartney, VP of Sport Performance Footwear.

Presently, Nike is on the heels of competitor Adidas in terms of revenue in football. According to Forbes, “[football] represents less than 10% of Nike’s $27 billion in sales over the last 12 months.”

At the event, Nike CEO Mark Parker said that “Nike is football’s most innovative and powerful brand.”

The newly-released Mercurial Superfly is a result of extensive research and development at Nike Sport Research Lab which spanned four years. The boot specifically aims to aid players who envelop speed in their style of play.

“Players like him [Ronaldo] and Neymar are amazingly detailed in what they come back to us with,’” said Max Blau, Nike’s VP of football footwear.

“They obsess about the details. They take away a boot, try it, and come back with their thoughts.

‘The boot has to be perfect, because if it’s good enough for Neymar and Ronaldo then everyone should be happy.”

Ronaldo, who promises to feature the pair of boots at the 2014 World Cup seemed satisfied with Nike’s most recent invention. The Portuguese striker said he felt “very comfortable and happy.” and added that “Nike is always evolving and listen to my feedback.”

Since it’s interception into the football footwear scene in 1998, the introductory Mercurial was the fundamental design which put Nike in the driver’s seat in football boot innovation. The boot currently donned by Ronaldo is the fourth adaption of the Mercurial series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSpw9cYyG_I