Cristiano Ronaldo's new boots are inspired by his time at Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo has now been at Real Madrid for longer than he was at Manchester United, but the Portuguese still holds a lot of affection for the place he made his name in football.

It’s the six years he spent at Old Trafford, during which time he won three consecutive league titles, as well as his first Champions League medal and Ballon d’Or, that provided the inspiration for his latest collaboration with Nike.

The Chapter 4: Forged for Greatness boots are meant to represent the process that turned Ronaldo from the skinny, naive kid he was when he turned up from Sporting Lisbon, into the muscle-flexing Ronaldo we see today. “The design is a nod to hot iron being forged into shape. Molten-esque orange and red gradients on the plate transition into metallic tones of the colour-shifting upper.” Nike said.

Arriving at United as an 18-year-old in 2003 Ronaldo was immediately handed the number seven shirt that’s come to represent his brand, and the CR7 features prominently on the boot. “Alex Ferguson said to me: ‘Listen, I want you to take number seven,’” Ronaldo said. “I was surprised because I knew the guys who had worn that shirt.”He added: “It was the beginning of my success in football. I improved not just my skills, but my body too.”Also featured on the boot are the Roman numerals for 28, Ronaldo’s number at Sporting, with the VII of the XVIII highlighted to show the emergence of his new number during his time in Manchester.

“In the five years that I was there, I learned the art of football. We won many things together. It was a dream for me,” he said. No doubt United fans will be purring to hear Ronaldo speak so fondly of his old club – a club that every summer rumours suggest he’ll soon be returning to. We don’t know about that, but the Chapter 4 boots will be available in Superfly, Vapor and NikeFootballX versions from April 10.