Pedro Neto goes viral for wearing sneakers with cut-off heels: why do footballers do this during matches? NFL News

Fans on the court and on the Internet were more shocked and amazed than the scene when Portugal lost to Spain in the round of 16 of the World Cup. Pedro Neto has a modified football foot. The winger had a chunk cut off the back of his expensive shoe, with the sock protruding from the heel. While people may think this is a healthy prank or just an old pair of shoes, it highlights a little-known issue that affects several professional football players.The photo may have gone viral now, but players from different eras have featured these cutout heels. Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Mats Hummels and Daniele De Rossi have all worn similar cutout boots. Football players have modified their spikes to reduce friction between the shoe and the heel. In a sport where spikes are installed with millimeter precision and where each sprint requires sudden changes in direction, discomfort in the heel can throw an athlete and their team off balance throughout their game.It all comes down to heels. Everyone’s sizes are different, and some people have “bigger” heels than others. In the case of footwear, this can lead to different types of discomfort, such as bruises and blisters, aches and pains, and chronic conditions such as bone deformities. One of the most frequently cited explanations for heel discomfort during the 2026 FIFA World Cup is Haglund syndrome.

Haglund syndrome

This condition is a bony growth or protrusion on the back of the heel bone that rubs against the Achilles tendon and causes pain and inflammation.

According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, this condition is a bony growth or protrusion on the back of the heel bone that rubs against the Achilles tendon and causes pain and inflammation. While this is technically a “deformity,” the symptoms associated with it, such as insertional tendinopathy and discomfort when wearing closed-toe shoes, make it a condition or syndrome. This condition is also called a “pump mass,” named after Swedish surgeon Patrick Haglund, who described the condition in 1927.Bartholomew Hudson-Gill, a physiotherapist who has worked with elite footballers at the FIFA Center of Excellence, said the condition develops due to a combination of the shape of the calcaneus, thickening of the Achilles tendon and inflammation of the surrounding bursa. “Essentially, the bursa acts like a shock absorber,” he told The Athletic. “The tendon gets thicker, the bursa gets irritated, and then the bone starts getting irritated. “The more they load, the more sore they become. That soreness means the bone has changed, which means it becomes more sore.”Treatment depends on the severity of symptoms or pain. The first option is to modify the shoes. It is recommended to wear cushioned shoes and avoid tight-fitting shoes, followed by the use of protective heel pads. Since football boots are required by regulation, they cannot be replaced, but they can be modified.Michael Robson, a musculoskeletal specialist physiotherapist at LDN Physio, said people can develop the syndrome without any symptoms. “It only becomes a truly painful syndrome when the enlarged bone repeatedly irritates the surrounding soft tissue,” he told the outlet.

football shoes

The best way to handle this situation, at least on the football field, is to leave room for the heel.

In professional football, there is no one-size-fits-all shoe. Although the shoes used at the World Cup are the same as those on the market, players often customize them to fit the shape of their feet or alleviate specific discomforts.The sight of player Pedro Neto attracted attention after he wore two pairs of sneakers with the heels partially cut off. The broken heel football shoes he wears are Nike Mercurial Vapor 16 Elite. While Neto has not publicly explained why his boots were modified, Haglund syndrome or simply blisters could be the explanation.If a player is managing this syndrome, opening the back of the shoe can take pressure off the heel. Otherwise, the stiff heel counter can press directly into the irritated area and cause pain. Other ways to manage the condition include physical therapy, shock wave therapy, injection therapy, and changes in activity. “They’re not going to stop playing because they have a little pain in the back of their heel,” Hudson-Gill said. “They may be needed for cup finals or World Cup qualifiers.”Even a century later, the best way to handle this situation (at least in football) is to leave room for the heel to move somewhere behind.