Julien Laurens’ top-10 shirts (3:06)Julien Laurens visits Classic Football Shirts in London to share his top-10 shirts of all time. (3:06)
While the 1990s still reign supreme as the decade with the most enduring and sought-after retro football shirts, there have been many iconic kits unveiled since the turn of the century.
Indeed, since the year 2000 we have seen some timeless entries into the jersey hall of fame. And, with most clubs now launching as many as four playing kits per season (with Manchester City wearing an astonishing nine different kits on the pitch in 2025 alone), there are future classics being added to the pantheon all the time.
So as we approach the end of 2025, we’ve assembled 25 of the best original kit designs released by top clubs from leagues all over the world since the turn of the century, selected with the help of ESPN editors from across the globe.
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While there are some that are nods to history or use recurring themes, we’ve omitted reissues or overt throwback designs — ergo, there’s no room for the reworks of ’90s classics like Arsenal’s beloved “bruised banana” away shirt in 2019-20 or Inter Milan’s black and silver-hooped masterpiece in 2020-21. Special-edition kits that were worn only once, and novelty designs, are also discounted.
Milan kicked off the century with a kit that still looks box fresh today, with those famous red and black stripes widened and framed by a horizontal black band across the top and down the sleeves. Unfortunately, the Rossoneri fell short in Serie A in 2000-01 and 2001-02 and failed to win a single domestic or European trophy while wearing this shirt. It was a period of prolonged managerial upheaval at San Siro, but they still looked good during it.
The fourth in a string of exquisite contemporary away kit designs, Ajax upped the ante once again in 2022-23 with a gorgeous deep blue alternate jersey that came speckled with gold and red trim — the design of which was inspired by the crosses on Amsterdam’s heraldic coat of arms. Again, the stuttering Dutch giants failed to deliver any silverware, but maybe this shirt was the real trophy all along.
While it feels remiss not to include a contemporary example of Inter’s cherished Nerazzurri stripes, how could we possibly overlook the Italian club’s drop-dead gorgeous third kit from 2019-20? With a 1990s feel and redolent in black and yellow, the shirt was launched at Monza and inspired by the very Pirelli racing tires that became synonymous with Inter uniforms as their sponsor for almost 30 years. Simple, refined, beautiful.
Traditional prints were paired with dusky blue tones and pops of bright yellow trim to create South African club Sundowns’ brilliant 2021-22 away kit, which conjured images of the sun going down and the inky night sky beginning to leak in over the expansive plains of the Springbok Flats.
The sash. The trim. The classic sponsor. The baggy proportions typical of the early 2000s. The large folding collar that would probably be turned up to cover your ears. We honestly don’t think River ever improved on this effortlessly unembellished recipe. It’s just perfect.
Kobe launched a wonderfully zany new kit for the 2020 J. League season, which featured a large harlequin pattern in maroon and white and was sported by a clutch of notable European stars, most notably World Cup-winning duo Andrés Iniesta and David Villa. The duo inspired Kobe to their first trophy — the 2020 Emperor’s Cup — in what proved to be the latter’s farewell appearance in Japan.
Flamengo always benefit from an extremely photogenic club crest that can elevate even the most mundane of red and black shirt designs. However, here the interlaced “CRF” script-style logo sits proudly atop a handsome hooped jersey that is lent a little additional texture by the presence of dark red “micro stripes” embedded therein. It was worn as the Mengão (featuring a young Vinícius Júnior) finished runners-up in Serie A while also managing to make it past the group stage of the Copa Libertadores for the first time in almost a decade.
Reinstating the trefoil logo to their shirts has proved to be a masterstroke for Adidas, which has seen a resurgence with its recent ranges of retro-infused away and third shirts. One of the finest examples is United’s 2024-25 third kit, which saw broad red and black bands wrapped across the chest of an off-white shirt that also gave pride of place to a pared-down, simplified devil emblem. It was supposed to look like the giant tricolor flags United fans wave around stadiums the world over. Honestly, we think they nailed it.
After enduring a rare trophyless season in 2020-21, Real hoped that their “lucky orange” kit would bring great fortune the following season. The omens were good when Los Blancos revealed their fresh new attire that featured multicolored trim and a swirl pattern in the material inspired by the famous rotunda and fountains in the Plaza de Cibeles, the area in Madrid where Real fans flock to celebrate silverware. Sure enough, they were back there the following May after their rejuvenated side managed to win LaLiga and the Champions League.
Julien Laurens’ top-10 shirts (3:06)Julien Laurens visits Classic Football Shirts in London to share his top-10 shirts of all time. (3:06)
Julien Laurens visits Classic Football Shirts in London to share his top-10 shirts of all time. (3:06)
Here, in alphabetical order, are some of the best kits we’ve seen so far in the 21st century.
A color combination that always looks regal when done correctly, Bayern most certainly got things right with their 2021-22 away kit, which featured a black base, shimmering gold trim and fine white stippling used to overlay a delicate, asymmetrical quartered effect. The detailing was also top-notch, right down to the golden emblem added to the nape of the neck, which proudly displays the “Munich child” — a small, hooded figure that appears on the Bavarian city’s coat of arms.
Football and Formula 1 melded in 2018 when Corinthians created a tribute to the late, great Ayrton Senna, who was known to be a huge fan of the Brazilian club. Released on the 30th anniversary of the F1 legend’s first world championship victory, the black and gold jersey had Senna’s signature on the midriff, while the 41 horizontal lines across the chest represented the number of Grand Prix wins he amassed during his stellar and all-too-brief career.
Among the finest offerings from Adidas’ first round of trefoil-adorned third alternates, Juve’s ultra-suave design was loosely based on a lunar theme, with the deep blue base color intended to conjure images of the night sky over Turin and the gold appointments twinkling like stars. The twisted stripes are made up of the club’s modern “double J” crest, which was replaced on the chest by a silhouette of a prancing zebra, a symbol first used by the Bianconeri in the early 1980s.
Having originally appeared in the 1970s, the red and black two-tone sash has been an intermittent staple of City’s alternate kits since then, first returning in 2002-03 and then making a much grander comeback between 2009 and 2011, at the end of which City won the FA Cup, ended their 35-year wait for a major trophy and thrust themselves headlong into the Abu Dhabi era. The Umbro incarnation of the sash was an instant hit and continues to be held in high regard by the club and their fans — so much so, in fact, that Puma chose to revamp the design for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
With the giant puma’s head emblazoned across the front, Pumas’ gold and blue shirts tend to stand out from the crowd, but the addition of an exquisite historical graphic in 2016-17 really turned heads all around the world. The ornate artwork was created by Mexican artist Juan O’Gorman and is taken from his incredible mural that illuminates the entire front of the central library at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, which sits on the same campus as the Liga MX club’s enormous Olimpico Universitario Stadium.