Since launching the original Safari Mercurial in 2010, Nike's line of CR exclusive Mercurial football boots have been a roaring success. Featuring flamboyant designs to match Ronaldo's exuberant on-pitch style, each release has been met with just as much horror as excitement!
Three editions in and as you can see, Nike's design team haven't held back. But now, following the release of the Mercurial Vapor VIII, Nike are faced the challenge of bringing Ronaldo's signature style to a far different boot. What's next for the CR line?
For the past three seasons, we've seen Nike decorate CR's Mercurials in spectacular fashion. While some consider them to be a crime against football boots, others can't get enough! They've gone on to become the most hyped & talked about cleats on the planet!
Few players on the planet can command their own line of signature football boots. Cristiano Ronaldo is certainly one of them. His personality and flair has set the tone for each shoe. Nike designers were presented with a blank canvas to design a boot for the most famous name in the game.
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Nike's unique approach to the CR collection has given us three of football's most exciting boots. The first – the Mercurial CR Safari – was a real statement. Released at the height of Ronaldo vs Messi in 10/11, the leopard print boots could only be pulled of by one man.
Ronaldo's second signature shoe – released in line with the Mercurial Superfly III – followed the same Safari theme. With a black upper featuring the same spotted design, Nike had toned down the shock-factor. The original print was inspired by the 1987 Nike Air Safari running shoe and was reinvigorated for the first two CR editions.
Nike's next instalment brought the CR line to new heights. The pinstripe boots were designed to mirror the performance and style of Cristiano Ronaldo with a disruptive graphic treatment on the left and right side of the boot. The right side featured a bold contemporary stripe of Mach Blue and Solar Red. The left side revealed a subtle pinstripe effect with a clear screen and pattern treatment.
Few other players or football boots could have pulled off such an outrageous design. But with Ronaldo at the top of his game scoring countless goals in his Superfly IIIs, the Mercurial man just about managed to get away with it!
Ronaldo's current catalogue of CR football boots are something to behold! Either (like us) you love them, or they make you lose all faith in football boots! So what kind of fashion experiment will Nike subject Ronaldo to this season? The potential arrival of a Nike CR Vapor VIII is certainly an exciting prospect.
What would you like Nike to bring to Ronaldo's next signature Mercurial? Will Nike continue this craze for the Vapor VIII, or will we witness a new direction for CR's boot line? Join the conversation online, on Twitter & on Facebook.