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We rate the best of Nike’s Premier League match balls as they hand over to Puma after 25 years.
The end of an era is upon us – from the start of the 2025/26 season, Nike will no longer supply match balls to the Premier League, with Puma taking up the mantle instead. 25 years on from the first Geo Merlin, a Nike ball will be belted into the back of a top flight net for the final time this May.
To celebrate Nike’s efforts over the years and mark the changing of the guard, we’ve decided to put together our top five of the best balls the American sportswear giants made for us over the years, ranging from simple concentric classics to fancy fractal designs. Let’s dive in…
5. 2012/13 Maxim
Nike described the this ball as including layers of ‘fractualated’ glass, apparently, which is a very fancy and completely made-up word to describe a ball which did a good job of combining a dynamic, modernist style with a relatively simple design template.
The Maxim was in use the last time that Manchester United won the Premier League, and it’s this ball which Robin van Persie slapped into the net 26 times, including when he bagged a hat-trick against Southampton.
4. 2015/16 Ordem 3
Best known, perhaps, for being the ball with which Leicester City’s legendary team of underdogs won the Premier League, it’s this two-tone classic which Jamie Vardy smashed repeatedly into the goal.
The combination of Telstar-esque pentagonal panels and the gorgeous red shading (this was the first time the regular match ball hadn’t been predominantly white) make it a design high point from Nike’s tenure, and we’re starting to feel all nostalgic about Wes Morgan just looking at photos of it.
3. 2021/22 Flight
Getty Images
The second of several versions of the Flight ball which saw use in the top flight, the 2021/22 ball actually came in three colourways, changing with the seasons. Which is a nice idea, but we prefer this bold orange and black number.
Son Heung-Min and Mohamed Salah both scored a hefty 23 times with the trio of match balls, but it was Manchester City who came away as champions – Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus all scored hat-tricks with it.
2. 2004/05 Total 90 Aerow I
A long name for a ball with a pretty straightforward design – and one that became a classic which stayed in use, with minor variations, for four frankly rather nostalgic years. We wouldn’t blame anyone for having this as their number one.
The concentric circular styling supposedly allowed players to see the spin of the ball as it zipped through the air. Perhaps that helped Chelsea, as they won the Premier League for the first time with this thing at their feet. A design classic which was fittingly revived this season for what will prove to be Nike’s final offering.
1. 2016/17 Ordem 4
We suspect most fans will either get our decision here, or vehemently disagree with us. This is the ball for people who like bold third kits, for people who acknowledge that the Telstar was a classic but are happy to move on. Basically, we reckon that just liking this ball makes us better, more forward-thinking people.
It’s certainly the brightest and most colourful ball the Premier League has ever seen, and while it may in many ways be the polar opposite of the Total 90 Aerow it produced similar results – Chelsea won their final title of the Roman Abramovich era with this jazzy number at their feet. Harry Kane might have liked it even more than us, mind you, given that he scored no fewer than four hat-tricks with it.
Whether you prefer the simple elegance of the Total 90 Aerow or the neon futurism of the Ordem 4, they won’t be getting an upgrade any time soon. Eight years of Mitre, 25 years of Nike, and now it’s over to Puma to see whether they can make Premier League football any more aesthetically pleasing…