It takes something pretty special to rip the spotlight away from Messrs Messi, Suarez, De Paul et al at Inter Miami. But when the latter showed up to a training session in a previously unseen pair of flame-emblazoned adidas Predator x Thrasher boots, they did just that.

Every now and then a boot shows up that properly surprises you, that you did not see coming, and for me the adidas Predator x Thrasher boot, shown off on the feet of Rodrigo De Paul at a recent Inter Miami training session, was just that. See, most boot releases these days are scheduled far in advance, and that combined with the leak culture that we live in, where the rush is to be first to break a story, means there are few genuine surprises. So it’s a refreshing change of pace to see a release that I previously had no inkling of.

In case you weren't aware, Thrasher is a hugely influential skate magazine that was originally founded back in 1981. Over the years it took on a cult-like status, being heralded as the "Skateboarding Bible". Its rebellious nature and constant evolution has always seen it at the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist. It was IYKYK way before IYKYK even existed. It was and still is so impactful, playing a key roll for me in a time when I had curtains and an undercut and was all about two things: skating and football.

And now it's on an adidas Predator.

I'm not crying, you are. This is two worlds coming together in such monumental way, and to pick a player like Rodrigo De Paul to rep them? Well, it just had to be Miami, and the Argentinian ticks all the boxes.

The Predator has become a canvas for collaboration over the last couple of years, and there are some huge releases in the pipeline. But to see Thrasher gracing that upper, surrounded by flames? Yeah, cliché as it is, you can just take my money at this point. 

Visually, the black base plays host to the golden flames, licking up from the toes, while the iconic 'Thrasher' logo sits on that iconic fold-over tongue. But you can see all that for yourself.

Fact is, these won't be the biggest Predator release of the year. They probably won't even be the best looking aesthetically speaking. But what they arguably are is right up there as the most culturally impactful. Skate meets football and I couldn't be happier about it.

Keep it locked for official release information.