Gareth Bale has returned to training wearing a modified version of the upcoming adidas X 17 "Dust Storm" series ahead of Real Madrid's 2017 Champions League Final clash with Juventus in Bale's hometown of Cardiff on Saturday night.
The race for a Champions League Final starting berth may be one he loses out on thanks to the impressive form of team-mate Isco, but if Bale does feature in the Welsh capital on Saturday he'll be doing so in a heavily modified version of the X 17 which is scheduled for launch before the game. We've already seen Real Madrid's Alvaro Morata slip into the next generation boot, but now Bale has followed suit in bespoke style.
Bale has taken his time adapting to new adidas X silos in the past, that's not unusual ahead of a big game and especially coming back from an injury, and once again there's more to his "Dust Storm" colourway than meets the eye. On closer inspection the Welshman's boots are actually similar to Bale's modified X 16.1 generation boots, that have been disguised in the "Dust Storm" graphics to look like the new 17.1 generation. Bale is likely to progress into the standard X 17.1 from the beginning of pre-season, but for now he's sticking with what he knows.
Stay tuned for a full first look at the adidas X 17 boot...
