Karim Benzema Debuts Ballon d'Or Boots – With A Twist

Following his Ballon d'Or win, adidas presented Karim Benzema with a special edition X Speedportal boot, presented in a regal white and gold look. As a result, all eyes were on Real Madrid's La Liga match against Elche last night to see if he would debut them, but disappointingly he started the game in the same ‘Champions Code’ X Speedflow that he’s been wearing for several months now. However, the second half saw that change, with the Frenchman taking to the field in the special editions… at least that’s what we thought. But a closer look at the gold-trimmed boots actually revealed that they were not the X Speedportal boots, but instead a pair of X Speedflow presented in the same way.

The obvious giveaway for this is the heel counter, but it can also be seen in the upper, too, despite the same graphic treatment and colourway being used. Now, the reason for this will probably never officially be known, but off the record, Benzema clearly prefers the X Speedflow to the new X Speedportal. This may be down to the performance of the boot, the fit, or simply superstition, given that he performed so well in the X Speedflow through the end of last season. Equally, given that the boot that was presented to him was a special one-of-a-kind, he may not have wanted to play in that, instead keeping it pristine for the mantlepiece.

Whatever the reason, Benzema continues to find the net in the X Speedflow, and it was no different last night, with the striker finding the net on three occasions, although two were ruled out by VAR. Thankfully, the one that stood was in his Ballon d’Or boot, giving it a goal-scoring start to life. Will we see it again on pitch? Hopefully, but our money would be on him being back in his ‘Champions Code’ X Speedflow for the visit of Sevilla on Saturday.

Shop adidas X Speedportal and X Speedflow boots at prodirectsoccer.com