If Nike and Zlatan do go their separate ways the Swoosh will be losing a player who has worn all ten generations of the Mercurial Vapor series.
Not only will Nike wave goodbye to one of the most popular and charismatic footballers on the planet, it will also mark the end of a journey, a journey that goes way back to a fresh faced Zlatan wearing the launch Mercurial Vapor for Ajax in 2003. With Zlatan's Nike future up in the air we've taken a look back at the Vapors he's worn, each boot being a checkpoint in his successful career.
Mercurial Vapor I - After a brief spell wearing the PUMA King and adidas Predator Zlatan switched into the first generation Vapor playing for Ajax in 2003. Ibra wore the Black/Chilli Red colourway against Celta Vigo in the Champions League before slipping into a blacked out Tiempo whilst he finalised an official deal with Nike.
Mercurial Vapor II - The launch of the Vapor II coincided with Zlatan signing for Juventus in 2004. Juventus were, and still are, a Nike sponsored club and by this time Ibrahimovic was officially a Nike endorsed athlete. The young Juve striker wore a collection of colourways including the Photo Red drop throughout the Euro 2004 championships in Portugal. 
Mercurial Vapor III - By the time Zlatan had moved across Italy to Inter Milan in 2006 the Mercurial Vapor III had landed. Zlatan wore three generations during his time at Inter scoring 55 goals in 88 games and made a name for himself quickly in his debut league wining season wearing numerous Vapor III colourways including the bright Cactus drop.
Mercurial Vapor IV - Ibrahimovic laced up in the Sport Red/Gold Vapor IV SL to score both goals against Parma on the final day of the 07/08 Serie A season, securing Inter a second consecutive Scudetto. Ibra wore the lace-covered fourth generation Vapor for two seasons including a limited edition version released for Euro 2008.
Mercurial Vapor V/Superfly - The first ever Superfly was debuted by Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan when Inter Milan met Man United in the 2008/09 Champions League season. Zlatan played out his final days for Inter wearing the Max Orange/Abyss/Metallic Platinum Mercurial Superfly before Barcelona came knocking. 
Mercurial Vapor VI/Superfly II - Ibra continued his goalscoring form by notching against Real Zaragoza in March 2010, the first game in which he wore the Superfly II for Barcelona. By the turn of the year Zlatan was back in Milan, on-loan with AC wearing the Voltage Cherry/Obsidian/Silver colourway. 
Mercurial Vapor VII/Superfly III - Zlatan went on to score 28 goals in 32 appearances for AC Milan most of which were scoring wearing the Mercurial Superfly III. The Volt/Retro colourway pictured above was one of four paint jobs Ibrahimovic wore during the 2011/12 season before moving into the Vapor VIII.
Mercurial Vapor VIII - The launch of the Bright Mango Vapor VIII marked the end of the Superfly at the time but Zlatan took some time to get used to the boot after switching back into his Vapor VII's at half time in the first game we wore them. After swapping between the boots Ibra finally settled on them to wear the 'Clash Collection' throughout Euro 2012.
Mercurial Vapor IX - January 2013 saw Ibra switch into his ninth generation boot, a decade after he appeared in the first ever Mercurial Vapor. Rather than wearing the Sunset version adopted by many of Nike's key athletes Ibrahimovic opted for the Fireberry/Red Plum/Electric colourway, a boot he wore to help win the Ligue 1 title with his new club PSG.
Mercurial Vapor X - At the beginning of the 2013/14 season Nike tried and failed to convert Ibra into the HyperVenom silo. Ibra switched back into the Vapor IX until the Vapor X was launched in May this year. Rather than sporting the Superfly editions Zlatan slipped into the low-cut Vapor X, his and Nike's tenth generation Mercurial Vapor.
Have any other players worn all ten Nike Mercurial Vapor silos? Where next for Zlatan? Let us know your thoughts below.
