Sneakerhead on the pitch: all Paul Pogba's boots
When colors and models reflect the personality of the wearer
February 27th, 2021
Paul Pogba is the cornerstone of Manchester United, one of the symbols of adidas football and an often underestimated fashion icon. His eccentric and eclectic style off the pitch is reflected in the only item that can express his personality on the pitch: the boots. Since his debut in the Red Devils academy, the Lagny-sur-Marne native has changed more than 40 pairs of shoes, making a strong bid for the sneakerhead on the pitch award. In his 10 years as a professional - divided between Juventus, United and the French national team - the "octopus Paul" showed off the most colorful and extravagant models of Nike first and then adidas. The journey into the midfielder's boot timeline is incredible and full of twists.
2012 - 2014
The first moment of the timeline is the friendly match between Juventus A and Juventus B in Villar Perosa, the first opportunity to see Pogba in the black and white jersey. His debut will be with the white and pink adidas Predator Lethal Zones, just to make it clear that strong colors do not scare the 19-year-old. From that moment on, the swing between Nike and adidas models begins: the moment you think that one of the brands we have signed Paul, in the following games Pogba will deny on the pitch that rumor. He will be a stylistically free spirit until 2016. In the first flashes of a champion, impressed against Napoli and Udinese, he will shoot with Nike CTR360 Maestri III and then switch back to the Champions League, where the Predator LZ in yellow / golden version return. It will be Nike's turn in the league - the first won with Juve - but it will switch to the adidas Nitrocharge 1.0 (just launched) to win the 2013 U20 World Cup, topped off with a few games with the Nike Hypervenom Phantom I in the orange colorway.
Also in the 2013-14 season he will alternate Swoosh (CTR360 Maestri III) and three stripes (adidas Nitrocharge) and then play the 2014 World Cup totally in Nike with the Magista Obra, the Magista Opus and again the Maestri III in the defeat against Germany. He returns to wear the Juventus shirt and consequently also the adidas, switching to the black and red Predator Instinct model. The turning point always comes in CL: it debuts with the new adidas Predator Accelerator Remake from the Revenge Pack 2014, one of the most beautiful restylings of the German brand. And the moment you think that PP has signed with adidas, the Nike Magista Obra is back in the turquoise version. And it's only been two years.
2014 - 2016
Paul Pogba's unpredictability increases in the 2014-15 season, when the custom boot period begins. Custom, however, which apparently creates the French directly without the help of any designer. The best demonstration is the Champions League final lost 3-1 to Barcelona in May 2015, played with a Nike Magista Obra full of graffiti-style lettering. Even before the final, Pogba had already played against Milan in the league and against Borussia Dortmund in CL with 1-of-1 models. A year full of Nike models, so much so that the agreement with the Beaverton brand was official. The confirmation also comes in the 2015-16 season, when he continues with the same model both in Italy and in Europe. But the last pair of Nikes he will wear will be dated 2016, with a special dedication: against Manchester City (match won 1-0), the Juve midfielder wears Magista Obra with the French flag to pay homage to the dead victims. during the Paris attacks of 13 November 2015.
2016 - 2019
In December 2016, Paul seems to definitively reveal his future: he will be an adidas athlete. There will be no official communication, but the total black shoes without laces he wears first in training and then against Fiorentina visibly have the three stripes. A few weeks later he enters the field at the Olimpico with the new adidas ACE 16+ PureControl, presented exclusively by the Frenchman, first choosing the fluorescent green color and then opting for the usual black and gold mix (shoe that he will wear only him globally). They will also be the last shoes he will wear as a Juve player, because in the summer of 2016 he will return to Old Trafford in Manchester. adidas, which in the meantime has become the technical sponsor of the Red Devils replacing Nike, is ready with Paul Pogba's Season 1 and the first capsule collection dedicated to DoubleP. In his second debut with United against Southampton (2-0), the Frenchman will launch the adidas ACE 17+ POGBA in black and gold version and in a "Blue Blast" version complete with a personalized emoji. Tied to his contract with adidas, Paul cannot change shoes as often as he was when he was a free agent, but he will often vary colorways. In the first matches in the Premier League he will also launch a gem that is destined for the annals: an adidas ACE 16+ PureControl from the "Viper Pack" complete with "Pogback" writing on the back tongue. Pogba doing Pogba things.
The German brand believes in him and the following year launches the ACE 18+ which in the meantime have changed their name, thus starting the second life of the Predator. The adidas Predator 18+ POGBA will have a particular colorway, with a dark gray base and stripes and sock in burgundy. It will be a few months before we see it return to the black-gold version of the same model. Here comes the 2018 World Cup, won by Pogba's France with a goal in the final from Paul's own with his new adidas Predator 18+ Energy Mode. Within two years, adidas has already produced 5 capsule collections for its star player - after Messi - and at the beginning of 2019, Season 5 presents the adidas Predator 19+ POGBA, in a capsule that will combine two of Paul's passions: football and basketball. The same model, in fact, will also be launched on the basketball market, together with a jersey with the "PP" logo. Before closing this penultimate cycle, you have time to discover adidas x Paul Pogba Season 6, with the launch of a special colorway of the adidas Predator 19+ that mixes black, purple and red.
2019 - 2021
The last round that takes us to 2019, when inside the capsule collection 6 there are some wonderful adidas Predator 19+ "Beckham Zidane" unveiled by the most iconic duo of the brand. The years go by and the models become more and more personalized by the players, with Pogba also playing a significant part as a designer of his line. This is how the adidas Predator 20+ PP were born, with Paul's monogram that ominously recalls that of LV. The colorway is one of his favorites: black and gold, exactly like the adidas Predator Mutator 20.1 Firm Ground "Gold" worn a few months earlier. He will take the field for some time with the Mutator 20.1, alternating as always the colorways: from black / green to a decidedly more eccentric one with exotic colors (Cloud White / Core Black / Pop).
The end of 2020 gives us another surprise. From the collaboration between adidas and Pharrell Williams, not only the 4 special kits for Juve, Arsenal, Bayern and Real are born but also the adidas Predator Mutator "Humanrace Pharrell Williams" that Paul Pogba - as well as Zidane - will wear immediately. The last shoe he played with before injuring himself was an adidas Predator Freak 20+ Superlative.