The Premier League is widely seen as the best league in the world. Carrying that weight and expectation is never easy for the organisers, but when they have some of the highest-regarded players around the world plying their trade in the competition, it’s slightly easier.
Throughout the campaign, the focus is on those players as they look to win the title, yet that’s only possible when they take advantage of the competition’s ball. Every football acts differently in the air. Some curve, others, like the Jabulani at the 2010 World Cup, are unpredictable, whilst the old-fashioned options were heavy and challenging. It epitomises the importance of technology in sports.
On the 22nd July 2024, the Premier League revealed the new ball for the 2024/2025 season. It celebrates Nike’s 25th year making the ball — and it continues their reputation of producing visually appealing ones. Due to this, we have decided to rank the eight greatest balls in Premier League history. Do the new versions feature or does nostalgia still rule at the top of the list?
Ranking Factors
- Appearance – It’s arguably the most important thing. If the football looks stunning, it’s going to rank near the top.
- Features – How light it is, whether it curves and how it strikes are all important to a football.
- Nostalgia – Naturally, if there are iconic memories of the ball in use, it’s always remembered more fondly.
Best Premier League Balls of All Time | ||
|---|---|---|
Rank | Ball | Years Used |
1. | Nike Total 90 Aerow I | 2004-2006 |
2. | Nike Geo Merlin Vapor | 2002-2004 |
3. | Nike Maxim | 2012-2013 |
4. | Nike Incyte | 2013-2014 |
5. | Nike Flight Ball | 2024/2025 |
6. | Nike Merlin | 2019-2020 |
7. | Nike Flight | 2022-2023 |
8. | Mitre Ultimax | 1995-2000 |
8 Mitre Ultimax
1995-2000
A trip down nostalgia lane kickstarts this list. Football in the late 1990s was drastically different to the modern day. Tactics were different, freedom was given to some of the greatest players of all time, and Manchester City were suffering in the lower divisions. However, the Mitre Ultimax was at the forefront throughout all those memories.
It was used from 1995 to 2000, acting as a symbol for one of the most entertaining eras in the competition’s history. As the reckless game was shaped, the Mitre flew in the air; it had no crazy characteristics, but its reliability made it well-loved from the muddy grassroots pitches to the top flight. It typically recorded speeds of over 100mph, frightening even the best defenders in the league.
7 Nike Flight
2022/2023
In a list of very similar-looking balls in the modern day, the Nike Flight ball in the 2022/23 season continued that list. Manchester City won the title by pipping Arsenal at the end of the campaign — and it technically would not have been possible without this ball. It continued Nike’s ‘Flight ball’ technology, and the competition stated that ‘it was honed over eight years and 1,700 hours of testing’.
Calling it a revolution was probably slightly over the top considering it just continued on existing balls, but it’s moulded grooves and 3D-printed ink fine-tuned flight through the air to help players put the ball exactly where they want it. All this technology for one single football will always be impressive.
6 Nike Merlin
2019/2020
During the 2019/2020 season, Nike produced three separate balls for conditions differing in the winter. However, the technology remained the same throughout all of them. The ball comprised just four fuse-welded panels to provide a bigger “sweet spot” for ball striking.
Meanwhile, it had heightened visual clarity for players and spectators thanks to the new graphic layout and striking colour combinations, as the Nike “Aerowtrack” grooves on the ball ensured a more consistent flight. Coupled with an Urban Grip which gave enhanced traction whatever the surface or weather, it epitomised a new modern era for footballs. It helped Liverpool win their first-ever Premier League title — and in the latter stages of the season, it became a common sight to see the Nike Merlin sterilised to combat the COVID-19 Pandemic. A unique era, but one that will forever be remembered.
5 Nike Flight Ball
2024/2025
As mentioned at the start of this article, the Nike Flight ball for the 2024/25 season was released on the 22nd July 2024 — and it makes an immediate appearance on this list without even being kicked. Carrying on its reputation from previous ‘Flight’ balls, it is built ‘to help you succeed on the pitch’, according to Nike. It features four fused panels, helping to create a larger sweet spot for more powerful strikes.
Alongside this, it has moulded grooves through Aerowsculpt technology to disrupt airflow, which naturally helps reduce drag. Meanwhile, the ball’s grippy texture for better control in any weather will help every athlete as a three-dimensional ink overlay fine-tunes ball flight to help improve accuracy. If you want to channel your inner Bukayo Saka or Erling Haaland, two of the best players in the league, you can, but if you want to do so with the exact ball, it will cost you a frightening £129.99. Those two players will both be hoping to win the title with this ball at their feet; maybe they’ll even be dreaming of firing a stunning goal into the top, right corner with it.
4 Nike Incyte
2013/2014
The 2013/14 season in England saw Manchester City win the title, breaking the hearts of Liverpool as they blew the title in the final weeks. As part of that, Steven Gerrard famously slipped against Chelsea, which saw him fail to control the Nike Incyte ball. Nothing mainly stood out with its appearance, but it had nothing wrong with it either.
It had layer-casing material which included cross-linked foam and vulcanised rubber, providing an overall feel and a touch desired by professional footballers. Meanwhile, the Premier League stated that ‘the arched panels and hand-sewn seams made for optimal aerodynamic flight for the ball, as flash casing provided for increased stabilisation in flight’.
3 Nike Maxim
2012/2013
A season before the Nike Incyte was introduced, the American company took the world by storm with the visually stunning Nike Maxim. It had two appearances, one being the traditional version, and the other being the winter hi-vis option. In this scenario, we’re focusing on the hi-vis option as it quite literally stood out from the crowd, even during a cold and snowy winter night.
The features were very similar to the Incyte a year later, but the Premier League classed it as the ‘world’s best football’ because it continued with the newly founded RaDaR graphic signalling. This incorporated graphic pod ideology by using cleverly developed ‘fractualated’ glass layers on top of one another to give a unique colour pop and visual appearance.
2 Nike Geo Merlin Vapor
2002-2004
For the final two entries on this list, we take a true trip down nostalgia lane — and it’s thoroughly deserved. Used from the start of the 2002/03 season until the end of the 2003/2004 season, the Nike Geo Merlin Vapor was a stunning ball to look at, even if it was only mixing different shades of grey. It helped Thierry Henry, one of the greatest French players of all time, win an unbeaten Premier League with remarkable technology for its time.
Six double hexagon panels eliminated seams, providing the ball with better roundness and more efficient aerodynamics for greater sweet spot control. Alongside this, an AirBloc Valve system provided superior air retention; that might sound over the top to you, but players loved it — and it made a difference during a new era of technology.
1 Nike Total 90 Aerow I
2004-2006
Finally, the Nike Total 90 Aerow I has been ranked as the best Premier League ball of all time. It had two versions, one for the bright days and one for the snowy winter nights; the latter yellow option was no doubt more visually appealing, as it pinged quickly through the dark nights.
The Total 90 Aerow marked a significant moment in a technological shift, as an unconventional design helped players see the ball better. Meanwhile, a new flash casing micro-texture stabilised the ball during flight. It was tested for over 100 hours in the lab and deemed to be the most accurate ball ever made at the time. Talk about making an unforgettable legacy.
Information via the Premier League.