adidas XEvery Generation
Bale at Euro 2016. Salah at the 2018 World Cup. Messi in gold in Qatar. Every adidas X, from the X 15 to the Crazyfast.
By Boots Plug · Updated October 2026
The lineup, from our own pairs: X 15, X 16, X 17, X 18, X 19, Ghosted, Speedflow, Speedportal and Crazyfast.
The Lineup
Tap A Boot ▸
- Frame
- X-Cage
- Faces
- Bale, Suárez
- Top Model
- PureChaos
- Worn By
- Bale
- Top Model
- PureSpeed
- Faces
- Benzema, Bale
- Laces
- None On The 18+
- World Cup
- Salah, Suárez
- Upper
- Thinner, Lighter
- Worn By
- Salah, Bale
- Plate
- Carbon
- Upper
- See-Through
- Frame
- Agility Frame
- Worn By
- Messi, Salah
Messi Leyenda- Heel
- Stability Wing
- Messi
- Leyenda
Crazyfast+- Plate
- Aeroplate
- Worn By
- Messi
The adidas X is adidas's speed boot line. It replaced the F50 in May 2015 with the X 15, then a new boot each year: X 16, X 17, X 18 and X 19. Named boots came next: X Ghosted (2020), X Speedflow (2021), X Speedportal (2022) and X Crazyfast (2023). In 2024 the F50 came back in its place.
adidas X 15
The F50 was gone. In came the X, and adidas called it chaos. Bale, Suárez and Benzema were among the players leading the new line, and it made its first appearance at the Champions League final in Berlin.
The X-Cage: a frame across the upper that stops your foot sliding on cuts. Laces on show and a low sock collar.
Read The Full StoryHide Full Story
Pre-orders opened on 23 May 2015, and the final was on 6 June. The X took over from the adiZero F50, which adidas had just retired. At the reveal Pep Guardiola put it simply: "It's chaos or control." The control boot was the ACE. Müller and Morata fronted the X too.
The X 15.1 had a three-layer X-Skin upper with a grip finish, the X-Cage and X-Claw studs. It also had adidas's first collar design: a low Techfit collar that hugs the ankle. The leather X 15.1 had a K-leather forefoot and no collar.
In September 2015 the X 15+ Primeknit dropped: a one-piece knit upper on the same plate and cage, first in Solar Orange.
The Ones We Still Chase- Solar Yellow (launch)
- X 15+ Primeknit Solar Orange
adidas X 16
Euro 2016. Gareth Bale wore the X 16+ PureChaos, the X that looked laceless but wasn't. The laces were still there, hidden under a sock.
Pull back the sock and you'll find laces on the 16+. The X 18+ (2018) has none at all. The 16.1 shows its laces, with a high collar.
Read The Full StoryHide Full Story
The PureChaos launched in the chrome Mercury Pack on 20 May 2016, first on the pitch at the Champions League final. A Techfit compression upper with a grip finish, and the Purecut sock that keeps the laces out of sight. The laces are still there underneath. The fully laceless boot in that pack was the ACE 16+ PureControl, the control side.
Under it, the Sprintframe outsole. The X 16.1 followed a week later with laces and a high collar, set for most X players at Euro 2016 and the Copa América.
Then the packs kept coming: Speed Of Light in July, the blacked-out Dark Space in August and the green Viper in September 2016. Blue Blast opened 2017, and Camouflage followed.
The Ones We Still Chase- Mercury (launch)
- Speed Of Light
- Dark Space
- Viper
- Blue Blast
- Camouflage
- Champagne
adidas X 17
Cardiff, 2017. The X 17 dropped just before the Champions League final there. New name, familiar boot.
Same Sprintframe plate as the X 16. The laceless-look top model is now called PureSpeed, not PureChaos.
Read The Full StoryHide Full Story
The Dust Storm pack landed on 30 May 2017 in grey and turquoise, with Benzema, Morata, Bale and Cuadrado as its faces. The 17+ PureSpeed kept the grip finish and the Purecut sock. The upper was a bit thicker and joined the collar better, on the same outsole as before.
The 17+ was £250 and the X 17.1, without the lace cover, £180. More packs followed: Confed Cup in June, the yellow Ocean Storm in August, Skystalker in November and Cold Blooded in January 2018.
The Ones We Still Chase- Dust Storm (launch)
- Confed Cup
- Ocean Storm
- Skystalker
- Cold Blooded
adidas X 18
World Cup 2018. adidas lined up Salah, Suárez and Gabriel Jesus to wear the X there, a few weeks after the X 18 launched in May.
No laces at all on the 18+. A thin woven grid on the upper and a low Claw Collar.
Read The Full StoryHide Full Story
It launched on 24 May 2018 as the first boot of the Energy Mode pack. In SoccerBible's words, the X had "gone full laceless". The upper is Skeletal Weave, a thin grid of speed yarns, with ultra-soft Speedmesh. Under it, an updated Speedframe outsole and a moulded heel.
Before launch, Bale, Kanté, Morata, Lucas Moura and Laporte were seen training in blacked-out pairs. The X 18.1 kept laces, with a Speedmesh upper.
A blackout pack followed that summer, then a white Spectral Mode.
The Ones We Still Chase- Energy Mode (launch)
- Blackout
- Spectral Mode
They look alike from the side. On the 16+ the laces are under the sock. The 18+ has none.
adidas X 19
The X 19 kept what worked. The silver 302 Redirect set the tone in May 2019.
A thinner, lighter upper than the X 18. The plate tech underneath stayed the same.
Read The Full StoryHide Full Story
The laceless X 19+ launched on 7 May 2019: an all-silver upper with an electric red collar, lining and plate. Salah, Gabriel Jesus and Bale wore it. Footy Headlines put it plainly: no revolution this year. The X 18.1 had a heavy claw collar and a fairly thick upper. The X 19.1 went lighter and thinner, on a plate with the same tech.
In June 2019 a black, blue and gold Inner Game pair dropped in the US only. It came to Europe in September under a new name, Input Code. Hard Wired, Encryption Code and Mutator followed.
The Ones We Still Chase- 302 Redirect (launch)
- Inner Game
- Input Code
- Hard Wired
- Encryption Code
- Mutator
adidas X Ghosted
No more year numbers. The X Ghosted landed in August 2020, a proper change from the X 19. Timo Werner had already been seen in a pair at Chelsea.
A see-through upper: Mirageskin on the +, Fluroskin on the .1. A carbon plate under the foot.
Read The Full StoryHide Full Story
adidas revealed it on 5 August 2020, with pre-orders the same day and adidas.com sales from 1 September, at €280. Gabriel Jesus had been seen in a prototype that March. The Mirageskin upper sits over a wire frame. Under it, the Carbitex Speedframe, a carbon plate. In SoccerBible's words, the first football boot "available at scale" with a carbon plate like this.
There's a toe spring for quick bursts, and a vacuum fit that pulls the air out of the boot when you put it on. The Inflight pack came that same month.
In April 2021 adidas and Marvel dropped the X-Men pack. The Ghosted got Cyclops: blue, with red stripes and yellow hits.
The Ones We Still Chase- Inflight
- X-Men Cyclops
- Memory Lane
adidas X Speedflow
After years in the Nemeziz, Messi came back to adidas's speed boot. His first X Speedflow was El Retorno, made for the 2021 Copa América.
A lattice frame (the Agility Frame) wraps the foot under a light knit upper.
Read The Full StoryHide Full Story
El Retorno dropped on 4 June 2021 at £250. It marked 15 years of Messi with adidas. The colours come from the boots he wore for his 2007 Copa del Rey goal against Getafe, with a +F50 logo on one boot and +F30 on the other. The full X Speedflow followed on 13 July 2021 in a bright red Meteorite pack.
The upper is Primeknit, called the lightest yet on a football boot at launch, over the Agility Frame. A knit Speed Collar on top, a Carbitex Speedframe underneath. Laceless +, laced .1. Messi, Salah, Son, Benzema, Lindsey Horan and Vivianne Miedema were all named at launch.
In September 2021 Messi got Unparalleled, with a "Messi 100" graphic. The Adizero Prime X pair, in running-shoe colours, came the same month, and Mi Historia followed in February 2022.
The Ones We Still Chase- Meteorite (launch)
- Messi El Retorno
- Messi Unparalleled
- Adizero Prime X
- Messi Mi Historia
adidas X Speedportal
Messi Leyenda · 2022Qatar 2022. Messi's World Cup boot was a gold Speedportal called Leyenda, a nod to the boots he wore at the 2006 World Cup. Argentina won it.
A wing at the heel for stability (it says "Stability Wing" on the side), and a lighter plate.
Read The Full StoryHide Full Story
The Speedportal launched on 19 July 2022, leading the Game Data pack in Solar Green/Core Black/Solar Yellow. Speedskin 2.0 upper, a stability wing and cage, and the Speedframe plate with new studs. It was the first X with zero virgin polyester. It was seen on the feet of women players at Euro 2022.
At launch SoccerBible gave 189g, without saying for which version. The laced .1, like our Leyenda, is listed at about 198g in a 27cm (Japanese shop data).
The Leyenda was revealed on 18 November 2022, gold with Argentina sky blue, and Messi first wore it in training in Qatar. In March 2023 he got a winner's pair to mark the World Cup. Not for sale.
The Ones We Still Chase- Game Data (launch)
- Shadowportal
- Messi Leyenda
- X 99 Speedportal
adidas X Crazyfast
Crazyfast+ ShownIstanbul, June 2023. Julián Álvarez debuted the X Crazylight at the Champions League final. The full Crazyfast came a month later, and Messi took it to Miami.
Crazyfast+ (pictured): a floating tongue and very thin laces.
Crazyfast.1: a single-layer mesh upper and knit collar, laced or laceless.
Read The Full StoryHide Full Story
The Crazyfast came out in stages. First Prada: on 25 May 2023 adidas Football for Prada dropped a leather X Crazyfast. Then the Crazylight on 5 June. The main launch was on 4 July 2023, in the Crazyrush pack.
A new Aeroplate insert made the Speedframe 5g lighter. The .1's mesh upper is called Aeropacity Speedskin, with a cage lining. SoccerBible called the + "the lightest option going".
Infinito Messi was his first Crazyfast after his move to Inter Miami, in August 2023. Las Estrellas followed in September for the World Cup win, then Bienvenido A Miami in October. In 2024 the F50 returned and took over as adidas's speed boot.
The Ones We Still Chase- Crazyrush (launch)
- Prada
- Crazylight
- Infinito Messi
- Las Estrellas
- Bienvenido A Miami
Chaos. Never Control.
The X took the F50's place in 2015 and never sat still: a new boot every summer, and the laces kept vanishing. Messi came back to adidas's speed boot with it in 2021, then wore it in gold at the World Cup Argentina won. In 2024 the F50 came back, and the X made way. The PureChaos still hits. So does the Leyenda. If we could keep one X for ourselves? The El Retorno Speedflow. Easy.
The Specials
Not generations. Four limited X releases, most of them dressed in F50 history.
X 99.1
Made for 15 years of adidas speed boots, inspired by the first F50 from 2004.
X 506+ Tunit
The 2006 F50 Tunit look, in its World Cup launch colours, on an X 19+ plate.
X 99 Speedportal
Leather, named after the 2015 adizero 99g. Closer to 200g, though.
X Crazylight
Julián Álvarez's boot for the 2023 Champions League final, a month before the Crazyfast.
Which X Is Which
Look-alikes, and how to tell them apart.
X 16 Or X 17
Same plate. PureChaos is the 16, PureSpeed the 17.
X 16 Or X 18
Laces under a sock: 16. No laces: 18.
X 18 Or X 19
The 19's upper is thinner.
Speedflow Or Speedportal
Lattice frame: Speedflow. Heel wing: Speedportal.
At A Glance
Show All 9 Side By SideHide The Table
| Boot | Year | Main Difference | Worn By |
|---|---|---|---|
| X 15 | 2015 | X-Cage frame, low collar | Bale, Suárez, Müller (launch faces) |
| X 16 | 2016 | Laces under a sock (16+) | Bale |
| X 17 | 2017 | PureSpeed top model, same plate | Benzema, Morata, Bale, Cuadrado |
| X 18 | 2018 | No laces (18+), Claw Collar | Salah, Suárez, Gabriel Jesus |
| X 19 | 2019 | Thinner, lighter upper | Salah, Gabriel Jesus, Bale |
| X Ghosted | 2020 | See-through upper, carbon plate | Werner |
| X Speedflow | 2021 | Knit over the Agility Frame | Messi, Salah, Son |
| X Speedportal | 2022 | Stability wing at the heel | Messi (Leyenda) |
| X Crazyfast | 2023 | Single-layer mesh, lighter plate | Messi, Julián Álvarez (Crazylight) |
Questions
How does the adidas X fit?
Snug, especially the laceless ones. One boot reviewer said to stick to your normal size on the X 18+ and X 19+, which fit very tight. The X Speedflow+ is true to size with room for medium-wide feet, and the X Speedportal+ is a medium-wide fit. The X Crazyfast+ is snug, with a low toe box.
Is the adidas X good for wide feet?
The X Speedflow+ is one of the roomier laceless boots, and the X Speedportal+ is a medium-wide fit. The X Crazyfast+ has a low, narrow forefoot.
Should I size up in the adidas X Crazyfast?
For the Crazyfast+, one boot reviewer suggests half a size up, because the forefoot is low and the upper doesn't stretch much.
Are laceless adidas X boots hard to get on?
The X 18+ is fairly easy: slide your foot in sideways, then turn it straight. The X 19+ is tight to get into. It came with a shoehorn for the first few wears.
When did the adidas X come out?
May 2015. The X 15 went on pre-order on 23 May 2015 and first appeared at the Champions League final in Berlin on 6 June.
What did the adidas X replace?
The adiZero F50, which adidas retired in 2015. The X 15 took over as adidas's speed boot.
What replaced the adidas X in 2024?
The F50. adidas brought the F50 back as its speed boot in 2024, after the X Crazyfast (2023). So the F50 made way for the X in 2015, and the X made way for the F50 in 2024.
How many adidas X generations are there?
Nine, from 2015 to 2023: X 15, X 16, X 17, X 18, X 19, Ghosted, Speedflow, Speedportal and Crazyfast.
Is the adidas X discontinued?
It looks that way. Footy Headlines reported that adidas ended the X after the Crazyfast, and the F50 came back as adidas's speed boot in 2024. We haven't seen an official adidas statement on the X.
What does PureChaos mean on an adidas X?
It's the top model of the X 16: the laces are hidden under a sock. The name comes from adidas's 2015 idea, chaos or control: the X for chaos, the ACE for control.
Did the adidas X 16+ PureChaos have laces?
Yes. The laces are hidden under a sock (adidas called it the Purecut sock), so the boot looks laceless. The X with no laces at all is the X 18+ (2018). More on the X 16.
What's the difference between PureChaos and PureSpeed?
PureChaos is the X 16+ (2016), PureSpeed the X 17+ (2017). Both hide the laces under a Purecut sock and use the same Sprintframe plate.
What do + and .1 mean on an adidas X?
On most X generations the + is the laceless top model and the .1 is the laced version. The Crazyfast is different: the + has thin laces, and the .1 comes laced or laceless.
What's the difference between the X Crazyfast+ and the Crazyfast.1?
The Crazyfast+ has a floating tongue and very thin laces, and it's the lightest. The Crazyfast.1 has a single-layer mesh upper with a knit collar, and comes laced or laceless. More on the Crazyfast.
What's the difference between the adidas X 18 and X 19?
Not much. The X 19 has a thinner, lighter upper. The plate tech is the same as on the X 18.
What's the difference between the X Ghosted and the X Speedflow?
The Ghosted (2020) has a see-through Mirageskin upper. The Speedflow (2021) has a light Primeknit upper over a lattice Agility Frame. Both use a Carbitex Speedframe plate.
What's the difference between the X Speedportal and the X Crazyfast?
The Speedportal (2022) has Speedskin 2.0 and a stability wing at the heel. The Crazyfast (2023) has a single-layer mesh upper on the .1 and an Aeroplate insert that makes the plate 5g lighter.
What boots did Messi wear at the 2022 World Cup?
The adidas X Speedportal "Leyenda": gold with Argentina sky blue, a nod to the boots he wore at the 2006 World Cup. The shop version was the laced Speedportal.1. More on the Speedportal.
When did Messi start wearing the adidas X?
In 2021. His El Retorno X Speedflow.1 came out on 4 June 2021, and that September SoccerBible wrote that he had returned to adidas's speed boot, the X Speedflow. More on the Speedflow.
What is the Messi El Retorno boot?
A limited X Speedflow.1 from 4 June 2021 that marked 15 years of Messi with adidas. Its colours come from the boots he wore for his 2007 Copa del Rey goal against Getafe, and he wore it at the 2021 Copa América. More on the Speedflow.
Did adidas make an X with Prada?
Yes. adidas Football for Prada dropped on 25 May 2023, with a premium leather X Crazyfast alongside a Predator and a Copa. More on the Crazyfast.
What is the adidas X 506+ Tunit?
A 2019 X boot in the look of the 2006 F50 Tunit, in its World Cup launch colours, on the X 19+ plate. More on the X 19.
In Stock Now
View All ›
Adidas X 16+ PureChaos AG
Adidas X Speedflow.1 FG
Adidas X 19+ FG
Adidas X 18.1 AG
Adidas X Crazyfast+ FG
Adidas X 16.1 FG Leather
Adidas X Crazyfast Elite Laceless FG
Adidas X CrazyFast Elite FG MessiSome boots you never forget. We're still finding them.
Every pair checked by us before it ships.
Shop All adidas X →By the Boots Plug team · Our Story ›