Before he was lighting up pitches and raking in trophies, Cristiano Ronaldo had humble beginnings in Portugal. The boy who would grow up to be CR7 found solace in the game of soccer, and would play as often as he could in his hometown of Funchal, in the autonomous region of Madeira. As the story goes, Cristiano’s mother could only afford two pairs of shoes, one for school and one for play. The young star-in-the-making obviously used the play shoes a great deal, and, as a result, the material would wear out, creating holes in the fabric. Instead of buying new shoes, his mother would sew the holes closed and send him back out on the playground.
The memories of his youth have clearly stuck with the Real Madrid star; he contributes a lot of money and time to charitable organizations around the world, and he’s never been shy about shouting out his hometown. To that end, Ronaldo teamed up with Nike for a collaboration celebrating his path from Funchal to the highest highs of world soccer. It was reported this week that CR7 will get his own pair of Air Max 97s as part of the iconic shoes’ 20th anniversary.
Cristiano’s take on the classic kicks are drenched in all things Ronaldo. From the patchwork paneling to the “dipped in gold” upper, the sneaker does a great job of embodying his road from rags to riches. The shoe is completed by green accents, a white midsole with a clear air bubble, and a “CR7” emblem on the heel tab.
The Nike Air Max 97 CR7 is set to release–in limited quantities–on October 23rd, exclusively on the Nike SNKRS app in Western Europe. There is no word yet on a US release, so if you have any friends across the Atlantic, hit them up for the limited edition golden boots.