Goodbye Puma, Hello Nike! Verratti Debuts New Blackout Boots

Update #4: As in the previous matches, Verratti laced up in blackout soccer cleats today. However, while he previously had been wearing blacked-out Puma evoTOUCH football boots in official matches, he used a blackout version of the Nike Hypervenom Phantom III football boots today, making it likely that he will join the Swoosh.

Marco Verratti Debuts Blackout Nike Hypervenom Phantom III Boots

Close-up with Verratti's new weapon.

Update #3: In case anybody at Puma had hoped the quite stunning special-edition "Derby Fever" evoTOUCH boots the brand had designed for the Marco Verratti for the occasion of the game between Marseille and PSG, such hopes were crushed tonight.

As in the previous few matches, Verratti laced up in a pair of blackouts - as Puma did not even reveal or put the aforementioned special-edition cleats on sale.

Update #2: Marco Verratti could join Nike since he was spotted wearing blacked-out Nike Hypervenom Phantom III DF boots in training ahead of the Champions League clash with Barcelona. Make sure to keep an eye on Verratti's boots tonight.

Update: Everything indicates that Marco Verratti's contract with Puma ended as the PSG midfielder debuted a blackout pair of Puma evoTOUCH boots in yesterday's match against Nantes. However, it were not Verratti's cleats that made the headlines but the strange yellow card he received.

Verratti Debuts Blackout Puma evoTOUCH soccer cleats

Verratti's boots make it very likely that he will leave Puma.

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti could leave Puma after his contract with the brand ended on December 31, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport (via Footpack).

According to the report, Verratti's contract with Puma, the Germany-based brand he's been signed to since 2011, is worth a mere €250,000 per year. Since Verratti has grown a lot since then to become one of the most important Paris and Italy players, he's hoping to significantly improve with his next deal, be it with Puma or another brand.

Although Verratti was pictured wearing Puma evoPOWER cleats for the first training of the year at PSG, it is expected that he'll wear a pair of blackouts in the next official game.