Cristiano Ronaldo’s bizarre new ‘Celestial’ boots

Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't lack confidence. Just to reinforce this fact, Nike decided to use the new Mercurial IX CR7 boot and 2013 CR7 Collection to compare him to "a celestial body that radiates energy."

In a frankly bizarre and astonishing stream of blurb, Nike compare Ronaldo to a "limitless" star that "burns brighter than others". They clearly had a lot of fun writing it, and it's very entertaining to read too.

When Pele suggested that Neymar was the best player in the world, Maradona responded by saying that Lionel Messi is from a different planet.

Expect Adidas to respond to this development by creating a heavenly boot design featuring angels and pearly gates for Messi.

The result is a pair of football boots with an outer space design on them.

From Nike:

"We were watching a game, and after Cristiano scored yet another amazing free-kick the commentator posed the question 'Is Ronaldo from this planet?!'” remembers Denis Dekovic, Nike Footwear Design Director. “When we got back to the design studio we got to thinking about CR7’s style and how similar it was to the definition of a supernova - a celestial body that radiates energy - and that was it, we had our inspiration."

"The concept of a star that burns brighter than others reflects Cristiano's style, speed and the idea that as a player he plays without limits, much like the outer reaches of the galaxy. What Cristiano is able to achieve on the field is something that we felt was limitless. So we took that direction and focused on creating a highly luxurious finish fused with modern print and color choices," added Dekovic.

The Mercurial IX boot features an all-over digital print of the Star Vela Supernova and includes a seven star path print, paying homage to Cristiano's shirt number. The supernova print is juxtaposed with a chrome swoosh flecked with silver fleck and a Blue Glow outline.

That commentator was right, Cristiano is 'out of this world' and this boot pays homage to that," said Dekovic.

Ronaldo seems to agree. "In addition to the way the boots perform, it’s also cool when we create something that represents my personality and style of play," he said.

Here's a closer look at them...

By Brooks Peck, Dirty Tackle