As worn by the likes of Ronaldo & Mbappe, Nike football boots are the most popular boots in the world, their latest player-wide release is the Mad Ambition Pack, released for the first half of the 2024/25 season.
Latest Nike Boot Packs
What You’ll Find On This Page:
- Boot Models – Superfly, Vapor, Phantom, Tiempo & Premier
- Which Players Wear Nike Boots?
- Different Price & Quality Levels – Elite, Pro, Academy, Club
- The Latest Nike Releases
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Nike Boot Reviews
- Children’s Nike Options
- Old Nike Boots
What Football Boots Do Nike Make?
Nike’s current football boot lineup is as varied as its number of star players. Currently, the brand silos are the Mercurials (Superfly 10 and Vapor 16), Phantom GX 2 and Luna 2 (Phantom Luna 1 for Women) and Tiempo Legend 10. They each come in Elite, DF, Pro, Academy and Club editions, more about those options below…
The Mercurial is one of the most iconic of all time and known for being a speed boot. Brazilian striker Ronaldo made them popular, with Cristiano Ronaldo taking the mantle to new heights.
Nike Mercurial Superfly
The Swoosh’s flagship boot with a dynamic fit sock collar as worn by Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Jadon Sancho.
Some select-Nike players led by CR7 and Mbappe wear the Mercurial Dream Speed series, now on its 8th generation. Check out the boots below:
Mercurial Vapor
The Vapor is the most popular boot in the world and worn by Robert Lewandowski, Bruno Fernandes and lots of professional footballers worldwide.
Phantom GX
Worn by Erling Haaland, Mason Mount and Phil Foden this is the collarless version of the Phantom, ideal for those who want the Gripknit upper without the sock.
Phantom Luna
The Phantom is designed for the skill players, with a grippy upper, the Luna pairs have a sock collar and are worn by fewer pro players than the low, the original Phantom Luna 1 was marketed as a female boot, but is now for all.
Tiempo Legend
The Legend is Nike’s heritage leather boot, offering comfort and tradition worn by Virgil Van Dijk, Jorginho and Thiago Silva.
Known as Nike’s premier leather boot for a long while, the Tiempo Legend has just switched to a synthetic leather make following the brand’s announcement of discontinuing the use of K-leather.
Premier
Soon to be phased out as Nike goes all in on synthetic leather, the Premier is the last remaining retail option from the Swoosh brand for a pair of premium K-leather boots.
Nike Boot History
For the history of Nike Boots, watch our YouTube video here:
Who Wears Nike Boots?
The most popular brand of choice amongst pro players, wearers include:
Cristiano Ronaldo
Original headline wearer of the Nike Mercurial, he would have regular special editions for big tournaments & achievements and wore the Dream Speed editions too, in recent times he has been taking a step back from being the face of Mercurial.
Kylian Mbappe
New contender to the Superfly throne, Mbappe has his own Signature collection and has also worn the GS360 and other Limited Nike boots, as well as the MDS 001 to 008.
Virgil Van Djik, Jadon Sancho, Frenkie De Jong, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Robert Lewandowski are amongst the other professional names wearing Nike boots.
What is difference between Nike; Elite, Pro, Academy & Club?
Ever wondered what makes a Nike pair of shoes get an Elite or Academy label? We will tell you about these different labels and what to expect from each version….
The Elite are the best available pairs, as worn by professional footballers. Then you get the Pro, Academy, and Club as take-down versions (in that order from highest to lowest). As you go down each level, some if not all the features in the Elite are either re-configured or removed. This reduces the price each to time you go further down the tiers.
Elite versions all have ACC treatment, a technology applied to the upper to maintain your touch and control on the ball in wet or dry conditions. The Pro, Academy and Club do not have this coating applied to them.
Frequently Asked Nike Boot Questions
What are the best Nike football boots?
The Elite models, with all the features, technology and benefits as worn by professionals.
What are Nike Academy boots?
Academy boots are a cheaper alternative that look like those worn by pros but with less quality materials & technology used.
What are Nike Elite boots?
These are the top-end and most expensive models of all their boots that include all the premium qualities and material and are worn by professional players.
Not sure what style, colour or even size shoe to buy? Consider a Nike Gift card as a gift this year – Physical Card in a box to open or Digital version by email available.
Many Nike boots use Flyknit fabric for the upper construction, this can also be found on many PRO models, but is absent in the academy and club that use cheaper upper materials. In the Mercurial lines, the Elite boots use one piece of 360 degree flyknit, whilst the Pro Vapor & Superfly still have Flyknit, but it doesn’t wrap the boot in the same way, on the Academy and Club the flyknit is replaced completely by synthetic leather.
Nikeskin a thin Nike synthetic layer (a polyurethan film) is also used on many Elite and Pro boots, but is not on the cheaper models, where you’ll find a more basic trophy synthetic.
Nike Boot Reviews
Below we have reviews of all of Nike’s recent releases, take a look and work out which is best for you? Get your FREE Boot Secrets guide so you can work out which is best for you!
Why Are Nike Boots at different price points?
The technology and quality of material varies between boots. An Elite GX for instance has the Nike-proprietary Gripskin technology, a special variation of Flyknit with integrated sticky yarns for enhanced ball grip. Such is not the case on the Pro and Academy versions, which does not have the sticky upper and instead resorts to cheaper mesh material with a plastic coating overlay.
Elite boots have the lightest soleplates, with technology removed or the quality reduced, as you move down the scale.
Academy sole-plates often only come in mixed soles (MG) a combination of Firm Ground and Artificial to suit both surfaces. FG and AG are on Elite pairs, with soft ground (SG) only on some tiers, Anti Clog tech only comes as standard.
Designed for different styles; the Nike Mercurial silo suits Speed, Phantom Skill and Tiempo for Comfort. Elite, Pro, Academy and Club at full retail price are around £250, £140, £80, and £60.
A popular choice amongst professionals and amateur players alike, if you like the look of Nike boots, then we can help you find a pair that will fit and perform to your expectations. There are different styles for speed, skill and comfort, and varying options for different price points with different materials and technology, hence the new Elite, Pro, Academy and Club naming convention as well as DF for used to indicate Dynamic Fit collars.
Nike’s Jr. Boots For Kids
Nike football boots for Kids come in all of the brand’s current lineup: Mercurial Vapor and Superfly, Phantom GX, and Tiempo Legend. To cater to the level of physical demand in kids football, the features available in each silo have been made tailor-fit; Pro models are available only in the Mercurials, with Academy being the highest model for the Tiempo Legend and the Phantom. Regarding the soleplates, the Mercurial are available in FG whereas the the other two are multi grounded. Despite this, the stud configurations of the boots are patterned to their mother boots, so the sole looks and performs in a similar way. The only exception to all of these is the Phantom Luna, since even in the adult version the Luna only has an Elite model to begin with.
Tech-wise, the children’s boots use many of the similar features of the adult boot; the upper in the Mercurials and the Phantoms has been made Kid-friendly while the silos’ distinct features like the Mercurials’ Zoom Airbag and the Phantom Academy’s NikeSkin coating have been retained. The Tiempo Legend has been scaled down though with its FlyTouch Lite upper, rather than the Plus on the Elite Tiempo. It gives a more protective, padded feel which should be sufficient for kids football.
A history of Old Nike Boots
Besides the current lineup, Nike’s dominance on the pitch had been carried out by some of the most recognised boots in the history of the game.
Phantom Venom
Nike’s strikers replacement for the Hypervenom Phantom (Kane, Rashford, Lewandowski)
Phantom Vision
Phantom VSN 2 – Quadfit, Ghost Laces (De Bruyne)
The Phantom Vision and Venom were Nike’s power and control boots respectively. It was no surprise that strikers like Lewandowski and Kane were proud wearers of the Phantom VNM while midfielders De Bruyne and Havertz were picked to play with the Vision. These two boots have since been superseded by the Phantom GT a boot designed to work for Venom and Vison wearers together.
Hypervenom Phantom
With a revolutionary NikeSkin upper and designed for a new breed of attack like Neymar Jr.
No one can forget the Hypervenom which introduced a soft and supple, mesh-based Nikeskin upper that was never before seen at that time. It had Neymar for it’s launch and was immediately worn by other stars like Ibrahimovich and Rooney. Despite some early reservations with the replacement of the beloved T90 series, players became receptive to the Hypervenom eventually because of its revolutionary technology.
Magista Obra
The first boot with a flyknit upper, the Magista Obra was designed as a midfielders control boot.
Nike’s patented Flyknit technology was engineered for football for the first time with the release of the Magista, the Magista’s Flyknit upper enabled the boots to have a more direct feel for the ball and none other than the technically savvy Iniesta had become the face of the silo. But perhaps the most spectacular highlight in Magista’s lifetime would be Mario Gotze scoring the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup Final wearing them.
T90 Laser
Total 90 was another Nike silo that was beloved by players, it was specifically known for its striking elements and arguably the spiritual predecessor of the Phantom VNM. Spanning a decade from 2000 up to 2011, the T90 had been part of some of football’s greatest moments-Rooney’s bicycle against Man City, Roberto Carlos’ free-kick against China, and Torres’ record-breaking goal against Tottenham for the most goals in a debut season from a foreign player in the Premier League.
The T90 also had iconic ads, capped by the ‘Take it to the Next Level’ 2008 commercial featuring a first-person view of a player’s progression from grassroots football to international level, showing the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Ronaldhino, and even legendary manager Arsene Wenger along the way.
CTR 360 Maestri
Tracing the family tree of Nike’s control boots would lead you to one of its roots in the form of the CTR360, constantly being debuted by Cesc Fabregas, it complemented Nike’s other silos at that time like the Total90 and Vapor; lines that were designed for strikers, by being created for playmakers. Specifically for the CTR360, Nike developed a new synthetic leather at that time called KANGALITE that was water-resistant and had better ball feel and touch.
If the Phantom VNM has the T90 and the Phantom VSN2 has the Magista and CTR360, the Tiempo Legend has its start with the likes of the Air Legend. The 2006 boot was made famous by Andrea Pirlo and was also worn by Fabregas and Tevez. It had Nike’s Zoom Air technology which is a cushioning system designed for speed and agility.
Nike Boots UK
Nike boots are available globally with all major releases available in the UK (England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland), Ireland, Europe and into Australia and New Zealand, you can get your pair delivered to most of Asia just ask us.
The well known Swoosh logo and the trademark ‘Just do it’ arrived later in the story of Nike, they began life as Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964, not becoming Nike Inc until 1978, the company made their first soccer shoe in 1971, since many classics have been created including the Tiempo and Mercurial lines, worn by some of the greatest players to play the game, are you next?
