Vinicius Jr. wears the Nike Mercurial Vapor. It’s one, if not the most popular speed boot, mainly known for its secure, tight fit. Over the years, Nike has introduced innovative features on top of its trademark snug sensation to further enhance its speed boot reputation. With Vinicius Jr boots we have has a player-boot combination that jives well with pace and acceleration.
Vapor 1 Remake
Vini jr. got the privilege of headlining the remake of the boot that started it all. Vapor 1 was remade in 2024 with the same upper and fit specification when it was launched in 2002. Only the soleplate was changed, fitting in the Zoom Air soleplate of the current Mercurials. To make things more nostalgic, the remake edition dressed up with that same Chrome/Lime worn by the Brazilian Ronaldo during the Korea/Japan World Cup. The boot even retained the tongue’s R9 reference, which can be made visible when folded over.
| Model | Quality | Pitches | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Vapor 1 RNG |  Vapor 1 Aesthetics Flytouch Plus upper Zoom Air outsole |  |  >> Get Vapor 1 RNG at Nike |
 Mercurial Vapor Elite | Gripknit+AtomKnit upper Zoom Air outsole |  |  >> Get Elite Mercurial Vapor 16 at Nike |
 Mercurial Vapor 16 Elite MDS 009 | Gripknit+AtomKnit upper Zoom Air outsole | |  >> Get Mercurial Vapor 16 Elite MDS 009 at Nike |
 Mercurial Vapor Academy |  Nikeskin upper |  |  >> Get Mercurial Vapor 16 Academy at Nike |
 Mercurial Vapor 16 Academy MDS 009 | Nikeskin upper Heel Zoom unit MG outsole |  |  >> Get Academy Vapor 16 MDS 009 at Nike |
Vinicius Jr. Previous Boots
MDS 009 Vapor
Vinicius wearing the MDS 009 was reflective of his status at that time. He was already a Ballon d’Or contender and viewed as one of Real Madrid’s superstars for years to come. To Nike’s own words, the MDS 009 celebrated the legacy of pace and self-belief that Mercurial players had given the silo.
Mercurial Vapor Mad Voltage
What made these boots striking was its neonish yellow colourway. It presented an opportunity for the AIR heel outline and Swoosh to contrast well with their black accent. The latter in particular also displayed a silver-like outline for a bit of a highlight. Both secondary detailing were present on the Zoom Air window.
Cosmic Speed Mercurials
Vini joined Nike in celebrating the women Mercurial footballers by wearing the Vapor edition of the Cosmic Speed Mercurials. It was a standout release, as defined by that unique iridescent look on a black colourway. It also had a band on the forefoot with tonal inscriptions of past Mercurial Dream Speed designs.
Mad Ambition Vapor 16
The Real Madrid foward joined the rest of the Nike Mercurial gang when he wore the predominantly blue Mad Ambition Vapor boots. It was his first pair for the Vapor 16, which in this case had a cool light shade for the base and a contrasting dark one for the logos. The same colour play applied between the soleplate and the studs and Air Zoom window. Vapor 16 at Mad Ambition was made available across all takedown models and across a variety of soleplate types.
Mad Brilliance
As a player for Brazil in the 2024 Copa America, Vini wore the mostly pink Mad Brilliance Vapor 15. Displaying no graphical design, Mad Brilliance effectively elevated the pink base. It also allowed the black accents on the branding to shine through. It was the last Vapor 15 he wore before switching to the next generation of the Mercurial.
Pimento Tn
Things had to be great for your sponsor to keep on asking you wear a variety of colourway releases. This was the case for Vini Jr around the early part of 2024. He just wore both the MDS007 and MDS008 a few month ago, but then he was tapped to unveil the second Air Mercurial x Air Max Plus, which was had an official colourway of Pimento with black.
MDS 008
The winger went from red to green as far as being part of the Mercurial Dream Speed series. The fastest player in La Liga (per November 2023 league report) definitely fit the bill to suit up the Green Strike MDS 008, which had a streaking visual on the forefoot and the lateral Swoosh to demonstrate speed and quickness.
Mad Ready Vapor
Vinicius, as any other Nike player, had a participation in getting the Mad Ready light yellow (Lemonade) Vapor on match days. It didn’t take long though though for the Madrid star to move on to his next boot.
MDS 007
With MDS now including an exclusive group to join Mbappe and CR7 in wearing the special series release, Vinicius regularly got the chance to be part of that limited selection of players to wear MDS boots. In the MDS 007, Vinicius stuck with the Vapor model, which obviously still had the red-orange colourway and bespoke Xs and Os graphical pattern.
Peak Ready boots
During Real Madrid’s time in Europe’s group stages in the 2023/24 season, Nike players involved in the tournament got in with Hyper Turquoise Peak Ready boots. Vinicius obliged and wore the Vapor 15s that had the thematic colour all over the upper. The boot filled the quarter with purple and speckled graphic that made the cutout AIR branding visible.
Vinicius Jr. Career and Boot Choices
Vinicius Jr. is known as a left-sided winger. As expected from a flank player, it’s his speed, strength, and dribbling qualities that carries on his game. Prior to his switch to Real Madrid in 2018, he already had a first team experience with Flamengo. But this didn’t necessary translate to Vinicius going straight to Madrid’s starting XI. He had to go through substitute appearances and a few starts before eventually becoming the starter he is at the moment. He had the privilege of being able to link-up well with Karim Benzema before the striker moved on to Saudi Arabia. His young career had already earned him multiple titles in multiple fronts-domestic league, knockout competition and regional tournament.
He started out with the Nike Hypervenom Phantom 3 before switching to the Mercurials during his starting years with Real Madrid. And with him preferring the low-cut Phantoms, his shift to the Vapor rather than the Superfly was just natural. His stint with the Vapor started with the Vapor 12s. Along the way, he was included with the prospect-dedicated Nuovo White Vapor 13s as well as the exclusive group of stars for the MDS beginning with the third boot of the series. After settling some legal discussions in 2023, Vinicius has committed again to the Swoosh brand, and, boot-wise, to the Nike Mercurial Vapor.
