If, like me, your knees have called a halt to your football playing career and you’re now resigned to watching from the sidelines and/or destined to pursue your dream through your children, adidas’ new Predator 24 boots are more just a thing to gawp over than they are an actual purchase.

In no uncertain terms, adidas’ Predator 24 collection is the most impressive array of football boots to come off of the German sportswear label’s conveyor belt since the adidas Predator Precision back in 1998, the same boot famously worn by David Beckham in that year’s World Cup.

Although the Predator boots themselves are perhaps a needless buy for someone like myself (I blame the creaky knees), adidas’ new Predator Freestyle, an off-field sneaker version of the boot, is most certainly a goer.

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In fact, adidas’ Predator Freestyle Football Boots, as they are officially titled, are arguably even more impressive than the Predator 24 itself.

I mean, they’re a Samba-fied version of football’s best-looking boot for crying out loud, what’s not to like?

Aesthetically, the Predator Freestyles look a little different to the Predator 24.

Of course the sneakers aren't studded and they don't have the same wrap-around tongue as the boots, but they do share the same comfortable suede and mesh upper as the specialist indoor court Preds. 

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Underfoot, beneath the lightweight Lightstrike midsole, though is the pièce de résistance of the entire Predator Freestyle: a super-grippy gummy Samba outsole.

Sure, adidas' on-pitch Predator 24 might be getting all the plaudits right now (and deservedly so), but for those unable to take to the pitch for one reason or another, adidas' Freestyle Predator is a well-equipped alternative.