Cristiano Ronaldo in New Nike Vapor IX

We have been waiting a while to see the official release of the Nike Mercurial Vapor IX and finally it has now arrived. In the initial release phase, Nike are offering 2 different colorways - Fireberry and Sunset (as pictured).

The Mercurial Vapor IX is engineered with a completely new upper to deliver a level of support and touch for players to deliver a deadly combination of speed and skill when it matters most. Nike’s new Speed Control texture on the upper gives players the confidence to perform at speed with enhanced friction that combines with a snug and responsive fit -- a hallmark of Mercurial boots.

To read more about the new boots, check out the in-depth details posted over on SoccerCleats101.

Cristiano Ronalo Wears Safari Nike Superfly III

Cristiano Ronaldo debuted his personalized Safari version of the Nike Superfly III in Real Madrid's clash with Barcelona last weekend. This was designed by and specifically for Ronaldo, with a safari print covering the entire boot. A bright inner volt yellow graphic has been added for visual effect.

The official colorway is Black/Volt/Dark Shadow and the boots are currently available to order on soccer.com for $399.99.

Cristiano Ronaldo - Before moving to Real Madrid....

Cristiano Ronaldo made his dream move to Real Madrid this summer, but he will forever be a legend for what he did at Manchester United. This is one of my favorite commercials for the Portugese winger, and oppitimizes his status at Manchester United. The commercial was released just after Christmas this year, after he had won the World Player of the year award. My favorite part is the kid's reenactment of Ronaldo...as I feel I used to do the very same in recreating Eric Cantona's goals! Let me know what you think.

Ronaldo Makes Real Madrid Debut

Cristiano Ronaldo made his debut for Real Madrid on Monday night in Ireland, in a pre-season friendly with Shamrock Rovers. The game, played in the newly built Tallaght stadium in Dublin, finished 1-0 to Madrid, but Ronaldo was rather inefficient in his 45 minutes of action. He did have 2 opportunities to score from free kicks, but his first went over the bar while his second hit the wall. It was pretty obvious that the Irish defenders were marking Ronaldo very closely, and what was deemed a 'friendly' quicly turned into a game of hard tackles. Ronaldo wore the new Black/Voltage Yellow Nike Superfly cleats.

Cristiano Ronaldo Presented to the Real Madrid Faithful!

It is official; Cristiano Ronlado is a Real Madrid player. At a packed Santiago Bernebeu, Ronaldo was presented to the Madrid faithful, holding the title as the most expensive player in football. Ronlado strutted out in his new Real Madrid kit, and as we can exclusively revel, he was sporting the number '9' jersey. The Madrid supporters went wild for their new Portugese playmaker, and even more so after Ronaldo started a chant for Real Madrid. Another point to note was the fact Ronaldo was wearing the new Black /Voltage Yellow Nike Marcurial Vapor Superfly, giving an idea of how he will look on the first day of the season. The Superfly was pulled from the market back in late March, but after some added development, Nike are again about to unleash the long awaited cleat and they are currently available to order.

You can also now Purchase Ronaldo's No. 9 jersey.

Here are some pictures from the presentation:

Cristiano Ronaldo Getting More Expensive Daily!

The economy is benefiting Manchester United in the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid! Who would have thought that accepting an offer for Ronaldo would actually become more beneficial by the day? The day the pound hit its highest level against the euro for six months, Manchester United finally said "Yes" to Real's offer. Amazingly, until the paperwork is signed and sealed every rise will cost the Spanish club more money.

Let's look at the numbers: 1 pound reached 1.17 euros on Thursday, in January it was 1.07. Experts have calculated that for every cent the euro falls, Real Madrid will owe an extra one million euros. Are you kidding me!? For every small change on the stock market, Madrid will owe an extra one million. The teams have currently agreed on £80million, this number would have equaled €83 million in January. This was when the pound was much weaker, but at today’s exchange rate, the same sterling amount will cost Real Madrid €93 million.

Mark O’Sullivan, who works as director of dealing at Currencies Direct in the UK, stated, “While the Ronaldo deal is good news for Real Madrid supporters, the accountants at the Bernabeu stadium will be sweating until the paperwork is all signed and sealed. Ronaldo’s price in January 09 was 83 million euros, today it is 93 million euros and rising and this will have a tremendous impact on Real Madrid’s plans to amortise this investment."

It is amazing how we don't think of these things when we hear about transfers. “This deal highlights the fact that the final price of a player like Ronaldo is very much decided by the currency markets and not always in the board rooms of football clubs - though who would put it past a canny Scot like Sir Alex Ferguson to take all this into consideration too!” Mr. O’Sullivan added. Add to this the fact that a lot of teams pay in installments with interest and the fee increases even more! There is no doubt that Manchester United fans will be sad to see Ronaldo leave and will hope that he somehow stays at the club. Technically, they should be hoping the transfer drags on another few weeks so that the transfer fee increases even more!

Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid

It is official and is sure to happen really soon! Manchester United have accepted an £80 million offer from Real Madrid for World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo. Madrid are on a spending spree right now after just spending £60 million on Brazilian star Kaka, showing their intent to be the top team in Europe next season. Ronaldo will now have contract discussions with Madrid before the signing is finalized. But in this situation it is pretty much a done deal, as Ronaldo has reiterated his desire to move to the Bernabeu. Expect to see the deal signed in the next 24 hours.

So, what does this mean for Manchester United? Sir Alex Ferguson has a very solid squad at his disposal. A move for Franck Ribery is not out of the question, but I do not expect Ferguson to have a summer spending spree. What has brought so much success to United in the past few years is the consistency in the team. Unlike Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, United have limited their big signings to 1 or 2 players per year. Ronaldo was not happy at United, and keeping him could only lead to bad things. A negative influence on the locker room is something Ferguson strives to avoid. Look at the sales of Beckham and Jaap Stam as evidence, both players were causing dissension to Ferguson. United will need to look for a decent rid midfielder to try fill Ronaldo's boots. Nani has never looked the part, and young Serbian star Zoran Tosic does not yet have enough experience. Darren Fletcher might be the only suitable right midfielder in the squad right now, but Ferguson has been deploying him in a more central role with much success. Ribery would be the ideal signing, being an established and pretty polished winger who has proven himself in the recent past. Watch this space for more information.

Cristiano Ronaldo puts his Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly to good use!

Manchester United went to Portugal this week, knowing that only a victory would see them through to the semi final of the Champions League. Porto left Old Trafford last week with a well deserved 2-2 tie, meaning that a win or draw would see them through. But less than 10 minutes in, the tie had taken a turn in the direction of Manchester United, a Cristiano Ronaldo strike from 35 yards set the stage for Manchester United to march on to the next round. And what a strike it was. Ronaldo picked the ball up just inside the Porto half, took a few steps and launched an absolute rocket the left the Porto keeper with no chance. It seems like the Superfly's worked for him, helping him put extra power and precision behind his shot.

Manchester United will face Arsenal in the semi final after Arsenal dispatched of Villareal in style with a 3-0 win in London. In the other semi final, Chelsea and Barcelona will meet in what is sure to be an absolutely cracking battle, with a lot of history between the two teams over the past several years. More reviews to come later.

Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly

Great news! The Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly is ready for the release. After the success of the Mercurial Vapor IV, Nike are excited to get this latest installment in the range on the pitch. Cristiano Ronaldo will be the first to debut the cleats on March 11th, it has been announced. Weighing in at 6.8oz, the Superfly is one of the lightest soccer cleats ever. This is because of the FlyWire technology that Nike use in their construction. Basically, FlyWires run across the top of the boot, acting like weight stabalizers just as the cables do on bridges. This allows Nike to create an extremely light upper.
After the success of the Nike Mercurial Vapor IV range, Nike are sure to be expecting huge sales. Again, like the Vapor IV Berry, the Superfly will sell out fast, and cleats are sure to be in huge demand.
Right now there is an opportunity to pre-order through soccer.com. If you want to get your order in, Click Here.

FIFA World Player of the Year in Nike Mercurial Vapor IV

Cristiano Ronaldo and his Nike Mercurial Vapor IV cleats were given the title of FIFA World Player of the Year today at a star studded event in Zurich. Ronaldo just beat out Lionel Messi to the title after an amazing year which saw the Portugese star score 42 goals and lead Manchester United to the Premier League and Champions League title. Throughout the past year, Ronaldo has sported most of the Nike Mercurial Vapor IV range, including debuting the Pine green version and also the Carbon SL's. In the past few weeks, Ronaldo has been wearing the Citron version, and is likely to wear the newest Charcoal version in a coming weeks. The Nike Mercurial range of football boots are worn by players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Theo Walcott, Robinho and Franck Ribery wear are designed for speed. They have an aerodynamic design and a covered lacing system that provides a better boot-to-ball contact area. The microfibre synthetic upper is thin and lightweight without compromising protection, and gives a great touch and feel for the ball due to it's 'glove-like' fit and second skin feel.

Charcoal Nike Mercurial Vapor's

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of a dozen European stars who have wore the new coveted version of the Nike Mercurial Vapor IV, Citron. Only several weeks after the release of the Berry cleats, the Citron has been the focus of International soccer cleat attention, with Ronaldo scoring in the FIFA Club World Cup and AC Milan's Pato scoring to ease the teams access to the last 16. Gabriel Agbonlahor has also made his mark for an England starting spot in recent weeks, scoring in last weekends win wearing the Citron's.

So, lets put the crazy colors (Berry and Citron) aside and talk about Nike's classic style release, the Nike Mercurial Vapor IV FG - Charcoal/Red. Actually, this cleat has been available in the US for a while, and is currently heavily desired in the UK where it won't be available until February. I have to be honest, I was not a fan of Nike's very colorful releases, but they have been extremely popular. It seems that Nike has benifited from an extremely well-marketed campaign, as the cleats have sold huge numbers and appear to have increased their stake in the soccer cleat realm.

Made in Italy and weighing a mere 8.1oz, the mercurial vapor IV are built for increased acceleration in and out of quick turns. Direct-injected heel studs impact weight reduction.

For more info on the Vapor Charcoal check out this article.

Citron flavored Nike Mercurial Vapor IV

Nike have released the latest color in their Mercurial Vapor IV collection. After having huge success with the Berry color, the new Citron color is sure to also be very popular. Looking like a neon green, the Citrus was given its debut by Pato of AC Milan in the Serie A. Last weekend, the Brazilian helped create the winning goal in AC's 1-0 win. The cleat was debut in the Champions League by none other than the Pink Panther, Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich. Although that title needs some tweaking now!

Ribery, who became center of attention with the Mercurial Vapor Berry, has been playing very well of late and that included a goal during the week in Bayern's 3-2 victory over Lyon. Inter Milan also had two players wearing the Citron Vapor in Adrianno and Swedish international Ibrahimovich.

Also during the week, Ballon D'or winner Cristiano Ronaldo wore the Citron's during practice, drawing a huge amount of attention. In this weekends game vs Tottenham, the Portugese winger wore the cleats, bringing out his usual array of tricks and step overs.

Cristiano Ronaldo Mercurial Vapor IV FG, Goal!

Cristiano Ronaldo is making up for lost time after missing the first 3 games of the 2008/09 season. With 8 goals so far this season in the Premier League, including 6 goals in his last 4 games. His two goals in saturdays games came from blistering free kicks. Ronaldo has a unique ability to make the ball turn in the air, and against Stoke, after only 3 minutes of the game, Ronaldo had the ball swerving and dipping into the back of the net. For any Fantasy League manager, Ronaldo is a must!

We have reviewed the Nike Mercurial Vapor IV FG that Ronaldo wears before, but lets take another look at these unique cleats. These cleats are designed for speed, and the lightweight design helps give a player a one step advantage over their oponents. A VAPOR forefoot plate with multidirectional traction pattern gives you excellent grip. The upper material used in the cleat is soft, supple Teijin synthetic leather. They weigh a superlight 7.4oz.

From other reviews, these cleats are an excellent purchase. Because of the materials used, the cleats contour to the shape of your foot increasing the comfort. Speed is a huge part of the current day style of soccer, so these cleats are a must have for wingers and speedy forwards looking for an advantage over their opposition!

Also, check out this pretty funny video of Manchester United's Kit-man using Ronaldo's gear, pretty entertaining!!
http://inside.nike.com/blogs/nikesoccer/2008/11/12/nike-pro-albie-is-tackleproof

Ronaldo's new Nike Mercurial Vapor IV

Nike have unleashed Cristiano Ronaldo....in his new marina and volt Mercurial Vapor IV. At the weekend, Ronaldo debuted the cleats with a second half goal vs West Brom, and also wore them during the Champions League clash with Celtic. During both games, Ronaldo was his usual creative self, setting up some great opportunities with crosses from both the left and right hand side. The Vapors are designed for the fast paced player, someone who likes dribbling and pulling off tricks. They are aero-dynamic and have a large surface area for a cleaner strike zone. Players that currently wear the cleats include Theo Walcott and Robinho...flair players.

And it looks like Nike have picked up the right players! Robinho's big move to Manchester City, Theo Walcotts emergence with Arsenal and England(his hat-trick vs Croatia being the highlight) along with Ronaldo, who is one of the favorites for the World Player of the year has certainly helped their sales numbers and is helping them push ahead of Adidas in boot sales.

Buy Nike Mercurial Vapor IV FG - Marina/Volt/Metallic Silver