Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos appeared to damage a pair of his beloved Adidas Adipure 11pro's during Saturday night's Champions League final against Liverpool.
The Germany international has worn the same make of boots since the start of the 2013/2014 season.
He clearly feels comfortable wearing the Adidas classics. In fact, Los Blancos teammate Gareth Bale once revealed that the protective Kroos cleans his Adipure's himself before every game.
"We think he doesn't trust the kitman to clean them," Bale said. "So he always cleans them himself so that they're perfect."
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In an interview with GOAL last year, the 32-year-old World Cup winner waxed lyrically about his tools of choice.
"My boots? The truth is it's a bit special," Kroos said. "I have not seen another player in Real Madrid who cleans his boots every day and prepares them like that.
"My boots are the most important thing for me on the pitch, more than for other players."
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But in last weekend's final against Liverpool, a pair of his old Adipure 11pro's were on the verge of unplayable, with a huge tear visible in several pictures after the full-time whistle. Check out his left boot below.
Thai football boot experts Under Stats spotted the tear in Kroos' boots as he celebrated with teammate Luka Modric at the Stade de France, and posted the following image on Facebook.
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"Noticed the condition of the upper being scratched and starting to tear, including the floor of the boot." they wrote.
As you can see in the images below, the soleplate of the boot is also partly broken.
Ahead of the final in Paris, Kroos was given a brand new pair of 11pros, featuring stitching of the Champions League final match details including its date and location.
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But instead of wearing the new design, the German decided to use his old faithfuls inside the Stade de France.
"Winning the Champions League is always difficult and often dramatic," Kroos told Sport 1 after the final whistle.
"Maybe this year was particularly dramatic, but for me all five [Champions League] titles have the same value. But if I'm honest, it was perhaps the Champions League I was least expecting to win out of the five."
Topics: Toni Kroos, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Champions League
Jack Kenmare