Rapid fire releases from start to finish ensured 2016 will go down as the busiest year the football boot market has ever seen. Each week was packed with options, providing drops of limited editions, signature silos and innovative advancements. Taking a look back at a monumental twelve months, we list the ten fastest selling football boots of 2016.
With the help of Pro:Direct Soccer we've accumulated the top ten fastest selling football boots of 2016. The ten football boots that went from launch to sold out in the shortest amount of time. In a year where players were spoilt for choice with hundreds of product releases, it's these ten that took the market by storm. Flying off the shelves, through the check-out and on the pitch. Scroll away...
10: Nike Premier Blackout - A latecomer to the 2016 party, the Nike Tiempo Premier Blackout was always nailed on to be a top seller. Wrapped in a colourway so popular amongst non-professionals and with a price tag of £100, its no surprise to see this stealth styled drop in the top ten. A soft ground plate to complement the European winter would have no doubt seen it creep towards the top five.
9: adidas Gloro 15.1 Blackout - More proof that the blackout movement is still as strong as its ever been. Another boot with a sensible price tag, the adidas Gloro 15.1 excelled amongst grassroots football with the classic fold-over-elasticated tongue proving to pull on the nostalgia strings of players of a certain generation. Once more, a SG plate would have seen it place higher.
8: adidas ACE 17+ Purecontrol "Red Limit" - The biggest release of December, if not the entire year, came in the shape of the second generation adidas ACE 17+ Purecontrol. The introduction of Boost technology ticking the innovation box. Released in a classic "Red/White/Black" colourway the ACE 17+ Purecontrol was backed with huge marketing power by the Three Stripes. Strong sales performance for a launch colourway.
7: adidas Gloro 15.1 "Black/Red" - You can have all the marketing budget in the world but consumers will always notice value and quality when they see it. Another heritage hero here. The one advantage that the adidas Gloro 15.1 "Black/Red" had over other boots was timing. Released in April, just as players in Europe were eyeing up their Spring FG boots to take through to pre-season, and with a killer set of visuals, it's no shock to see that these shifted in numbers.
6: adidas ACE 16+ Purecontrol "Dark Space" - If there's one thing players love more than a classic black boot, it's the most modern technologies in black out colourways. The combination of the best performance tools wrapped in a retro blanket of darkness. The "Dark Space" ACE 16+ Purecontrol was stunning in every sense.
5: adidas ACE 16+ Purecontrol "Space Craft" - Launched as part of the adidas Limited Collection, the "Space Craft" was everything that 'limited edition' stood for. A shimmering golden colourway on adidas' most advanced footballing silhouette. Snapped up in hours, the "Space Craft" adidas ACE 16+ Purecontrol creeps into the top five selling boots of 2016.
4: Nike Tiempo Legend 6 Pirlo - A surprise entry? Perhaps, considering Nike focused far more marketing time and money on other products, but a boot and player with such class markets itself. A long awaited signature colourway for Andrea Pirlo confirmed there truly is No Pirlo No Party. Magnifico.
3: adidas 99g - Just 299 pairs of the updated adidas 99g boots were released and unsurprisingly sold out in minutes. 99 grams of stylised innovation produced one of the most desirable releases of the year. The top three fastest selling boots were always going to be limited editions weren't they? 
2: Nike Mercurial Superfly EA Sports - The Swoosh take the silver with a boot that we ranked as our fifth favourite of 2016. The Nike Mercurial Superfly EA Sports came out of absolutely nowhere. One of the most surprising collaborations of the year, the EA Sports Superfly was a pixel pounding release of just 1,500 pairs – each snapped up in minutes. The ultimate limited edition boot, that would have been the fastest selling boot of the year is it wasn't for...
1: Nike "What The Mercurial" - All 3000 pairs, including the well stocked allocation at Pro:Direct Soccer sold out to trigger-finger fans in seconds as the Nike "What The Mercurial" stormed to take the most desirable boot of 2016 title. Taking slices from 16 of the most memorable Mercurial colourways the "WTM" was one design defying shoe. That will take some topping in 2017.
Summary: Gather round all, time to reflect on what we've learned today. Clearly, black football boots are still the don. Sold in mass numbers across multiple silos – as long as balls are round they'll be a demand for black football boots. Another obvious observation is that adidas and Nike still dominate – the chasing pack couldn't squeeze one boot amongst them into the top ten despite numerous honourable releases. No room for the Euro 2016 boots, we'll put that down to timing with the tournament starting at the end of the European season. The 2016 limited edition game was strong, proved by the top four best selling boots all released in limited numbers.
All featured boot silos are available from Pro:Direct Soccer. What do you make of the results? Drop your comments below.
