In honour of his 600th Premier League appearance and 20th year with Nike, James Milner has been presented with a special signature edition Nike Phantom GT II. The boots feature graphic details on a white base that reference the clubs he’s played for during his 600-game career.
On the 10 November, 2002, James Milner made his Premier League debut for Leeds United, aged 16. 20 years and 600 games later and he’s still going strong as a Premier League player, and while current club Liverpool is his fifth, he’s only been with one brand in all that time: Nike. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of their partnership and his 600 Premier League appearances, Nike have produced a special edition Phantom GT II for the stalwart midfielder, which was presented to the midfielder this weekend.
Milner became only the fourth player in Premier League history to reach 600 appearances in the competition when he came off the bench in Liverpool's 3-1 win over Southampton. It saw him joining Gareth Barry (653 appearances), Ryan Giggs (632) and Frank Lampard (609) in reaching the milestone. But as well as that, he has been a dedicated Nike man that whole time, wearing a number of boots over the years, including the Air Zoom T90 II in his early days, the Magista, and now the Phantom.
His new signature edition boot is certainly a more classy affair than the boot he was presented with for his 500th Premier League appearance back in 2019, which – let's face it – felt a little rushed. Like that boot, this one sees a white base, with graphics playing across the upper to represent his career. These include a red cross to symbolise his time as an England international, as well as colour executions on the Swoosh to represent each of his five clubs: Leeds United, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Manchester CIty and Liverpool. '2002' appears on the heel, while 'XX' calls out his 20 years. A final sign off comes in the form of the word 'Milner' on the lateral side, with the 'M' using the Mercurial's look. It's a classy boot for a no-nonsense professional. Yep, can't see this one on the pitch... probably safely on the mantelpiece already.
The James Milner XX Nike Phantom GT II is not available for retail, but you can shop other Nike Phantom boots, including the 2022 World Cup 'Generation' pack, at prodirectsoccer.com
