We’ve got plain kits and patterned kits, kits inspired by landmarks, kits inspired by stadiums, kits inspired by ancient civilizations and even kits created in collaboration with one of the greatest basketball stars of all time.
There is also an inordinately high number of out-and-out, nostalgia-heavy, retro third-kit designs in the mix this season, with some hitting the mark more than others.
Austrian side St. Pölten play in a blue jersey that has a very faint “zigzag” effect added to the material to lend a smidgen of dynamism to the proceedings. Unfortunately, all of that has been well and truly carpeted over with a wild array of sponsor logos, which has the unfortunate effect of making their players look — more than usual — like walking billboards. The away kit is just the same again, but in red.
Possibly one of the most over-egged football kits we’ve seen this season (and that is saying something), Juve’s pale blue away shirt is a hopelessly confusing muddle of overlaid graphic prints. For unknown reasons, a liquid droplet effect was applied to what was an already quite busy maze-like tile pattern, and the resulting chaos is really rather nauseating.
Perhaps the weakest of the new “Total 90” range, the Blues’ ultra-bland third kit somewhat erroneously harkens back to an era when, while enjoying a major upturn in fortunes (quite literally), the club was actually wearing Umbro strips. Instead of those halcyon early-Mourinho days being invoked, we’ve actually been saddled with the return of “Boring, boring Chelsea.”
It’s incredibly difficult to pull off a grey kit without it looking inert and drab, and we’re afraid to say that Wolfsburg just haven’t managed it here. What is supposed to look silky, sleek, and space-age is actually more reminiscent of a dreary, overcast day in Lower Saxony.
A blazing flash of fiery orange, the Roma away kit is a history lesson in shirt form and apparently draws inspiration from Romulus and Remus, who are symbolic figures in the stories of Ancient Rome and its origins. The twin brothers are the sons of Mars, the Roman god of war and whose mighty lightning bolt can be seen crackling across the front of the jersey. Loud and dramatic, while still maintaining a certain refined air.
Real’s inky-blue away kit is intended to look like the Bernabeu by night, with a vague glimmer woven into the fabric to replicate the way their newly-renovated mega stadium glints like a giant silver air fryer plonked square in the middle of downtown Madrid.
United have once again gone back to mine their cult favorite “snowflake” away kit from the early 1990s for inspiration, this time enlarging the pattern and plastering it in a light mauve color over a white base. The trim is a dark, plummy purple. The original design has now been rehashed countless times over the years, but we guess it’s a classic for a reason.
Created in collaboration with Kobe Bryant’s “Mamba Mentality” label, Barca’s gold-and-purple away kit is apparently infused with the late NBA legend’s inspirational approach to sporting greatness. The knit of the material offers a bit of additional texture to an otherwise bland template, but the inky blackout logos do at least give things a quirky edge.
After muddling through a few experimental tweaks to the recipe, Atleti are back in their classic Rojiblanco stripes this season and looking all the better for it. Clean, uncluttered, and with just a hint of that early 2000s retro tang.
Part of Nike’s revamped “Total 90” range, PSG’s retro third kit looks like it was air-dropped straight out of the early 2000s thanks to the shield-shaped panels, the central crest and the pointy flashes on the collar and cuffs. The gradient stripes also offer a little bonus razzle-dazzle to proceedings.
Arsenal’s constant rehashing of their cult classic 1995-96 “lightning strike” away kit is getting a little stale now, with the club having repeatedly used it as the basis for several kit and retro apparel lines in recent years. The latest reworking in dark blue and silver is still easy on the eye (especially that lovely retro cannon crest), but maybe it’s time to move on.
Back in familiar stripes after a season spent in a half-and-half design, the latest iteration of the Blaugrana sees a diagonal gradient added across the vertical bars that almost sees the red and blue fuse into a purple haze. Hardly a classic shirt by any stretch of the imagination, but it serves its purpose just fine.
One of the more convincing examples of Nike’s “Total 90” throwback series, Atleti’s version is sky blue with period-correct white and red piping as used on their change strips of the mid-2000s, particularly 2004-05. The central crest placement also fits the bill rather nicely.
Arguably one of the better “Total 90” offerings, Barcelona’s glaring neon-orange third kit could at least pass for a training kit from the post-Millennium era, and it certainly looks better once the players’ names and numbers are applied. We’re not entirely sure what it is, but it still feels like there’s something crucial missing from these Nike throwback kits.
Obviously influenced by the black-and-yellow “Cantona” away kit of 1993-95, United’s third shirt is oozing with ice-cold retro juice and has proved an instant hit among fans, who are presumably increasingly keen to hark back to the good old days.
One of the many retro third shirts created by Adidas this season, Roma’s is razor sharp with the green trim and lush geometric pattern in the fabric, apparently supposed to mimic the manicured gardens found inside ancient Roman villas. The “ASR” trigram crest is also the perfect adornment for a shirt of such pure elegance.
Real’s third kit is a rather charming retro effort in bright blue with an unusual diagonal linear pattern in the fabric that is supposed to resemble rows of the new folding seats that have been installed in some areas of the Bernabeu stadium. Despite the slightly dubious creative impetus, it’s an absolute beauty and no mistake.
Inspired by fine wine and almost certain to age like it. The delicate vanilla-claret-and-olive trim is further enhanced by a delicate vine leaf pattern that glistens within the black fabric and resembles the kind of ornate flock wallpaper you might find in a particularly grand country house nestled within the vineyards of Piedmont. Prefetto, as the Italians might say.
Somewhat loosely modeled on the white, red and green away kit that Chelsea released in the 1970s as a tribute to the Hungary national team, the contemporary equivalent is built upon an off-white base and features the very daintiest of pinstripes running in a column down the middle of the shirt. In testament to its curious heritage, the Chelsea men’s team wore their original 1974-75 vintage during a season that saw them suffer early elimination from both cups before being relegated from the First Division for the first time in over a decade. Magical times.
After deciding to roll over last season’s away kit into 2025-26, PSG are actually in possession of two kits inspired by the French capital’s most renowned landmark, with the white away kit bearing a stylized “painting” of the Eiffel Tower across the front like some kind of Parisian tourist information pamphlet.
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