Nike debuts soccer cleat that feels like playing barefoot

A week after Adidas unveiled its Adidas Nitrocharge and the 99g soccer cleat (or football boot), Nike is stepping out with the Nike Hypervenom, a boot built for agility and a barefoot feel.

The new "football performance innovation" is made from NikeSkin, which is composed of a hybrid mesh and polyurethane film, in addition to an all-weather material. Nike's claim is that the Hypervenom puts the player's foot that much closer to the ball for a barefoot-like experience.

"Mesh delivers an amazing level of comfort and feel. The athletes asked us to deliver a boot that gets as close as possible to the feeling of playing barefoot," said Nike Football Design Director Denis Dekovic. "Mesh takes us a step closer to doing that and the All Conditions Control finish keeps the mesh dry."

Nike unveiled the Hypervenom this week at an event in Rio de Janeiro with Brazilian striker Neymar. Nike says that boot was created with feedback from not only Neymar but Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who all said agility and feeling close to the ball were key issues.

The new Nike Hypervenom will debut on June 2 in the Brazil v. England match on the famous feet of Neymar and Rooney. Other players set to wear the boot include Ibrahimovic, Robert Lewandowski and Danny Welbeck.