What Was Neymar’s Boot Celebration All About?

Everyone has been talking about it today; Neymar’s boot balancing celebration following his opening goal in PSG’s game with Amiens in the French League Cup. Rather than your standard fist pump or knee slide, Neymar decided to take off his right boot and balance it on his head.

The question now is why did he do it? Was it an inside joke or a marketing play? As it stands, we don’t have a definitive answer. But no matter how you look at it, this was a real winner for Nike and Neymar’s new signature Mercurial boot. The folks at Nike HQ must have been giddy with excitement after seeing the amount of coverage and attention the boot received today, all for free, with images of the Mercurial “Puro Phenomeno” on every major news platform.

How many kids you think are going to celebrate a goal like Neymar this weekend? 🤨 pic.twitter.com/BY8ZywWRzE

— SC101 (@SoccerCleats101) January 11, 2018

Nike’s new “Mercurial Puro Fenomeno” boot borrows aesthetic cues from the Superfly II that Neymar wore on his debut for the Brasil National Team, while pays paying homage to the original Ronaldo’s ’98 Mercurial boots.

Find the Mercurial Puro Fenomeno at soccer.com.