Luis Suarez could be set to end his 11 year partnership with adidas after returning to pre-season wearing an unbranded blackout football boot. The Barcelona forward met up with his teammates this week ahead of Supercopa tie against Sevilla on Sunday.
The blackout boots Suarez has been wearing in training appear to be an unbranded version of the adidas X 17+ silo with its distinctive lace cover. The Three Stripes have just launched a next generation X – a boot Suarez wore during the 2018 World Cup – so we'd assume that he's on the cusp of renewing his adidas contract or signing for a new brand. According to reports coming out of Spain, that brand is PUMA, and Suarez is rumoured to be in the latter stages of contract negotiations ahead of the new season.
A move to PUMA would no doubt make him one of PUMA's highest earning players, and in turn elevate Suarez's profile as one of the brand's leading players alongside Antoine Griezmann and Sergio Aguero. PUMA will be keen to push a deal through before the start of La Liga season, but we'd still expect Suarez to wear adidas should he make an appearance in Sunday's Supercopa tie against Sevilla.
Suarez actually wore two different blackout boots in his first session back at Barca. Adding more fuel to the PUMA fire it looks like the Uruguayan is wearing a blacked out version of the PUMA Future 2.1 silo below – a boot currently being worn by the likes of Marco Reus and Marko Arnautovic – rather than the ONE series worn by PUMA's key strikers (Giroud, Griezmann, Aguero).
Suarez would be a huge addition to the PUMA family and would most definitely add that bit of bite the Big Cat will be after to push on into the 2018/19 season.
Stay tuned for more on Luis Suarez's proposed move to PUMA...