Top 5 Boots Worn By Cristiano Ronaldo

When Cristiano Ronaldo has the ball at his feet, the world stops to gape in awe. Some may be quick to point out his perceived selfishness, arrogance and brashness while grudgingly acknowledging his genius, but the fact of the matter is – love him or hate him, you simply can’t ignore Ronaldo.

Because despite his flamboyant personality, when he’s on the field, he lets nothing but his feet do the talking. As important as his feet are the things he wears on them – i.e. his unmissable Nike boots. Ronaldo has worn several boots by Nike, a highly fruitful partnership that began in 2003, and while some have wowed due to their design or colours, there are other boots that are as legendary as the player himself.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top 5 boots worn by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Nike Mercurial Vapor R9

The Vapor R9s, as their name suggests, may have been designed for the Brazilian Ronaldo – popularly known as the Phenomenon – but it was another Ronaldo, then a fresh-faced teenager with Sporting Lisbon, who made them legendary. The legend began way back in the summer of 2003, when Manchester United travelled to Lisbon for a friendly with Sporting CP to commemorate the launch of the Alvalade XXI Stadium.

United, fresh from winning the league, expected an easy match, but were in for a complete shock when they were turned inside-out by a fleet-footed Sporting winger named Ronaldo. Wearing the number 28, Ronaldo completely picked United apart with his speed, much to the chagrin of their players. Then United manager Sir Alex was highly impressed with the boy in silver Mercurial Vapor R9s and wasted no time in signing him for a then-record £12.24 million. The rest, as they say, is history.

Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly

These beautiful black and fluorescent yellow boots seem rather drab compared to the other flashy boots that have adorned Ronaldo’s feet, but nevertheless, they remain one of the most important ones of his career. For these are the boots Ronaldo famously wore at his unveiling as a Real Madrid player, signaling his transition from a youngster with bags of potential to one of the best players on the planet.

These black and yellow boots attained further legendary status when Ronaldo became the first player to score in his first four La Liga appearances, which was the beginning of his prolific Madrid fairytale. All in all, Ronaldo will surely go down in the history books and so will these boots.

Nike Mercurial Vapor IV SL

True, CR7 has worn flashier, better-looking boots but this was the pair he had on his feet when he plundered a record 31 goals for Manchester United in the 2007/2008 season, helping them win the Premier League title in the process.

That season was the one that transformed Ronaldo from a boy to a man, and from a starlet with outrageous talent to the world beater he would go on to be at Real Madrid.

Nike Mercurial Vapor IX CR

This classy white, black and gold number comes from Ronaldo’s signature Nike collection, and was specially designed for the player when he won the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2013, his very first, ending Messi’s long-standing reign over the award in the process.

Making this boot even more special was its limited edition release, with only 100 of these babies manufactured for the public. To say they sold like hot cakes was an understatement as they sold out in less than a minute after being put up on Nike’s website. Now that’s gold!

Nike Mercurial Vapor SL

Although the dramatic 2008 Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea is rather infamous for Ronaldo’s penalty miss, these boots acquired a rather legendary status thereafter. The Portuguese was extremely rampant in the build-up to the final, and was a major reason why United reached the final unbeaten.

Ronaldo continued his prolific form in the final and even scored a thumping header in the 26th minute, which was cancelled out by Lampard at the end of the first half. Of course, Lampard’s goal wasn’t enough, and United, regardless of Ronaldo’s penalty miss, triumphed over Chelsea to win their third European Cup, courtesy of Van der Sar saving Anelka’s penalty.

And hence, the black and pink Mercurials worn by Ronaldo – who won his first ever Champions League - acquired a legendary status. Ronaldo beautifully expressed his pride on winning his first ever CL saying, “The high point of my career was winning the Champions League. No one will ever erase that from my memory, in the same way that no one will ever erase the fact that I did it in a Manchester United shirt.”