15.12.2021 » Cristiano Ronaldo's boot preferences during his career
Cristiano Ronaldo's brace for Manchester United against Arsenal in the Premier League on Thursday took his tally to a staggering 801 goals during his illustrious career. After originally making his name with Sporting Lisbon and United, CR7 joined Real Madrid and established himself as one of the greatest players the world has ever seen. Ronaldo won tons of silverware with the La Liga giants, before moving to Juventus where he added even more trophies to his CV. He has also enjoyed success on the international stage, inspiring Portugal to glory at the 2016 European Championships in France. The 36-year-old is now back in the Premier League and strutting his stuff in his famous Nike football boots as if he has never been away. While he does not run around as much as in his younger days, Ronaldo undoubtedly remains one of the finest goalscorers in world football. Ronaldo's Mercurial Superfly 8 boots are the latest incarnation of a range that have helped to keep the forward at the pinnacle of sport. With that in mind, we take a look at some of the boots Ronaldo has worn during pivotal moments in his long and successful career.
Amazing Nike Superfly Boot Evolution - Ronaldo, Mbappe and Sancho:
Mercurial Vapor
Ronaldo officially signed for Nike in 2003 while playing for Sporting. He subsequently wore the Mercurial Vapor R9 boots in a friendly against United.
His impressive performance persuaded United to snap up Ronaldo and he soon made his mark in English football by scoring in the 2004 FA Cup Final.
By 2007, Ronaldo was wearing Mercurial Vapor III boots, which helped him to win his first Premier League title with United.
The following year he donned Mercurial Vapor IV SL boots, and scored on the final day of the season to help United win back-to-back titles.
He wasn't finished that season, switching into Mercurial Vapor SL boots for the Champions League final, where he scored and won his first continental trophy.
Mercurial Vapor Superfly
The Portuguese forward spent the next few seasons flip-flopping between Nike's Vapor Superfly and Superfly boots.
Ronaldo won a third Premier League title with United in 2009, before making a sensational move to Spain to join Madrid.
He made an immediate impact with Madrid, scoring on his debut and netting two direct free kicks in his first Champions League match for the club.
The next couple of years were spent in Superfly boots, before switching into the Mercurial Vapor Superfly III CR in 2011.
He couldn't stop scoring in these boots and even had a run where he bagged an incredible 11 goals in just four appearances.
Mercurial VapoR
Nike's decision to change Ronaldo's boot branding back to Mercurial Vapor in 2012 proved to be inspired as he fired Madrid to the La Liga title.
He notched a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid and finished the season with 40 goals to demonstrate the power of this stunning white colourway.
Ronaldo subsequently became the first player to ever score in six consecutive El Clasico games to lay down a marker against his big rival Lionel Messi.
The goals continued to flow over the next year or so, most notably when he scored in the 2013 Copa Del Rey final wearing a pair of Mercurial Vapor IX CR SE boots.
He subsequently won the 2013 Ballon d'Or award by averaging a goal every game, while also becoming the first Madrid player to score 200 goals.
Mercurial Superfly
Superfly has been the predominant boot branding for Ronaldo since 2014 and he has continued to sparkle during that time.
From becoming Madrid's all-time leading goalscorer to winning more Ballon d'Or awards, Ronaldo's status as a legend of the game has been cemented forever.
The Mercurial Superfly CR7 Chapter 4: "Forged For Greatness"’ is one of the most iconic boots from this period, as he wore it during Madrid's victory in the 2017 Champions League final.
Further Superfly boots have been released to celebrate Portugal's success at Euro 2016 and Ronaldo's world record £80 million transfer to Madrid.
Fast forward to today and the Mercurial Superfly 8 boots are helping Ronaldo prove that age is just a number when you are one of the world's greatest footballers.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Manchester United is on December 18, against Brighton. You can watch Manchester United vs Brighton, Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid, Barcelona vs Elche, Liverpool vs Newcastle, Arsenal vs West Ham, and Borussia Dortmund vs Greuther Furth, all matches provided from our live streaming game pages.
Manchester United next game:
Manchester United vs Brighton Hove Albion kick-off time (18-12-2021):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 20:30
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 19:30
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 18:00
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+1: 13:30
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 13:30
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 12:30
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 09:30
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 08:30
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 05:30
Sources: ronaldo7.net / theguardian.com / espn.co.uk
