“Size 9 please mate” – Jude Bellingham requests pair of iconic boots from Toni Kroos, Real Madrid star responds
Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham appears set to get his hands on Toni Kroos' iconic boots from Adidas.
Adidas released the Adipure 11Pro boots back in 2013 and they have become synonymous with Kroos. The German has worn them ever since and even after the company discontinued them for newer versions, the midfielder refused to move on from them. Hence, Adidas continued to custom-make them for him.
The giants of sportswear manufacturing have now released a special Adipure 11Pro Toni Kroos version of the boot. They come in two different variations as one version is specifically made for the Real Madrid man, with the German flag on the heel.
The other version is a limited edition as well but is available in more sizes and doesn't have the German flag. It does have, however, the soleplate which Kroos requested as a personal modification after he started wearing them in 2013.
On the German's Instagram post regarding the launch of the new boots, Jude Bellingham asked for a pair, stating:
"size 9 please mate"
Kroos replied:
"on their way"
Kroos' boots have helped him become one of the greatest midfielders of all time over the years, especially since joining Real Madrid in 2014. He has won four UEFA Champions League trophies and one FIFA World Cup trophy among other honors.
Why did Jude Bellingham wear No. 22 shirt before Real Madrid move?
Jude Bellingham has been handed the iconic No. 5 shirt at Real Madrid after arriving from Borussia Dortmund for €103 million in the summer. This is a change from the No. 22 shirt he has worn in the past at Dortmund and Birmingham City.
Birmingham City's head of development Mike Dodds explained why Jude Bellingham wore the No. 22 shirt, telling talkSPORT:
"I actually remember his first session as a seven-year-old I thought, 'Yeah he's alright, not too bad'. He didn't stand out. It probably wasn't until he got to 13 where you started to go, 'This boy is very good. He would have been about 13 or 14 and like most boys that age, they want to be a No 10."
He also said:
"And I remember, we sat down with him and we said, 'we think you're doing yourself a disservice, we think you can do all of it. So we came up with, 'we think you can be a 22'. His eyes lit up and we knew we had hooked him from then on in!"
Birmingham City even retired the No. 22 shirt in Jude Bellingham's honor after his move to Borussia Dortmund in 2020. The Englishman now dons the No. 5 at Real Madrid, which was previously worn by the legend Zinedine Zidane.