The 2025-26 Third Kit Run Needs to Be Studied | OneFootball

Has there been a better year for third kits? Maybe. But maybe not.

No matter how many kits you own, there’s always a few that have gotten away. Perhaps it’s Beckham’s 1998-99 Manchester United shirt, or Ronaldo Nazario’s from Inter that same year. These grails keep us on the hunt, always vigilant for an opportunity.

But some of the most appealing in any collector’s treasure trove come from when clubs took a twist on their usual selves, often taking inspiration from their local culture, geography, or team history.

It’s the daring nature that makes the third kit so appealing, when the marketing directors take a chance in giving the designers a bit more leeway, and if they’re lucky, come away with a bespoke classic in the making.

This summer has been arguably the best of all time for third kits, spanning from the heights of the English Premier League, to the fashion houses of Italy, and even to an entire collection in Major League Soccer. A top 10 is always a subjective list to put together, as finding a kit to be cool or “rizz’”(your author is too old to know how to use that word) is a matter of perspective, and when you add club allegiances it can dissuade all plausibility for seeing true beauty. But if your closet gets a few of these, you can move from just a regular collector, to a kit connoisseur. Here’s our 10 favorite third shirts of the year.

10. Real Madrid

The majority of these kits will be manufactured by adidas, who have decided to celebrate their 75th anniversary with retro lines spanning through their elite clubs. Real Madrid’s royal blue is an uncommon theme for Los Blancos, but it comes off very elegantly, with the three stripes covering just half the sleeve.

The stripes themselves are jagged, more akin to adidas’ signature shell toe sneakers. In this case, the idea derives from the rows of folding seats that are now situated inside the Bernabeu. There’s some originality to that, as I can’t think of any other kits which have incorporated seating arrangements from inside the stadium itself.

The best easter egg is the inscription on the back, “90 minuti e el Bernabeu son molto longo,” or “90 minutes in the Bernabeu is a very long time,” famously quoted by Real legend Juanito. He stated it after losing 2-0 versus Inter Milan in the first leg of the 1984-85 UEFA Cup, and they infamously came back to win 3-0 at home. They’d go on to win the final as well.

9. Werder Bremen

Before reading the description of this kit, the ombre was so unusual that I just wanted to think for myself. Initial impression? Dark, moody. Yet the copper Hummel logo on the side even made me think of German industrialism. The back tag is a metallic “60,” celebrating the club’s 60th anniversary of their first Bundesliga title, won in 1965.

It’s definitely of the green family, but this unique shade won’t and hasn’t been seen anywhere else in football. A far cry from the bright greens that Mesut Ozil, Diego, and Miroslav Klose wore, and a color we could hope to see more often in the River Islanders’ rotation.

8. Ajax

The oldest cause for celebration in this mix, Ajax commemorates Amsterdam’s 750th year since being founded as the little hamlet of Amestelledamme. It’s dissimilar from adidas’s elite third kits in that this logo maintains the modern three stripes instead of the Trefoil, but does have Ajax’s original shield, which escapes the brutalist hyper-modern direction and returns to the brilliant detail of the legendary Greek hero the club is named after.

Inside the collar you’ll find the city seal, with its third strip connected to the 1275 decree that mentions the “Settlement of Amsterdam.”

The “Halo Ivory” beige is a nice backdrop for the piping and embroidery, juxtaposing the three maroon stars over the club badge in light blue. The three stripe logo looks equally shiny in blue, giving a bit more depth beneath the surface.

7. San Jose Earthquakes

I was almost surprised to learn that the original Clash name wasn’t inspired by “Rock the Casbah” — which would have been pretty cool — but was a marketing ploy. Nike, who were a large shareholder in one of the MLS’s original 10, thought it would be vibrant and cool for young fans, with an edgy scorpion logo to, I don’t know, sting you.

Anyway, as lame as the backstory is, the shirt is awesome. It does look like it could have come out of a late ’90s music video, sporting a cool peacock green collar against neon yellows and reds, that zig-zag up to a two-tone v-neck collar. And you know what, the scorpion logo does look pretty rad.

6. Celtic

A sleeper pick out of Scotland steeped in Irish folklore, Celtic have chosen to celebrate their heritage with one lucky kit. They’ve just won their fourth league title in a row, with the same numbered clover brazing the chest in a large way.

These orange and light green pastels won’t be for everyone, and the tie-dye horizontal stripes are quite different. The orange piping on the sides of the chest complete the look of the Irish flag, and they may as well have written “Erin go bragh” across the back of it.

But if you’re not Irish and are not thinking much about this kit, consider it an eloquent take instead of a green t-shirt for when your whole office demands you wear green on St. Patrick’s Day.

5. Seattle Sounders

Known as the Orca kit, it’s part of the MLS Archive collection along with San Jose. While a more recent entry into America’s top flight, the Sounders have been around since 1983, and the entirety of the kit is inspired by the time they were A-League (now the USL) champions, winning back to back titles in 1995 and 1996.

Some of the club-provided design inspiration contains a bunch of marketing jargon like “inspired by the unique contradictions and vibrant spirit of our city,” but nonetheless it’s an excellent mid-1990s dark purpley-blue and aquamarine color scheme, and adorable orca logo. Scientists don’t know why the animal chooses not to hunt humans, nor will they understand if you pass up this kit.

4. FC Köln

Celebrating an icon of the city, FC Köln’s 2025-26 third kit is all about Cologne Cathedral. The club partnered up with the monument’s official maintenance and preservation group, Kölner Dombauhütte, for an authentic tribute to one of the most beautiful feats of architecture in the world.

3. Manchester United

You’ll have to do a double take to make sure it’s not Eric Cantona about to kung fu kick a fan in this tribute to the 1993-95 United away kit. What the club has done here though is more than a throwback, it’s a remarkable piece of fashion to initiate a new era.

More so, it won’t sit around the locker room, but will be used as early as September in the English Premier League. What’s most appealing in this kit is the weaving of the devil motif giving texture to the black background. United were right to abandon the polo collar for the v-neck, whereas the flat cuffs give it a more dynamic feel.

The oversized logo looks pretty cool in the black and yellow colorway, especially when matched with the classic Trefoil logo.

It’s the Mancunia way.

2. Roma

This one is for the Romanisti who respect their club’s history and city landscape. The green and yellow colorway is in respect to Alba-Audace, who merged with Fortitudo ProRoma and Roma to make A.S. Roma. Yet it also has a double meaning, with both natural colors inspired by lush Roman villas and geometrical gardens.

What’s most eye-catching is not the inclusion of the Lupetto, as Roma have been doing more frequently, but the archaic ASR logo used as early as 1930. Having just become part of adidas’s elite inner-circle of clubs, the yellow Trefoil logo works very nicely in a kit that’s not as much a throwback as it is a work of modern grace.

1. Arsenal

Superb. For the 20th anniversary of the club’s final season at Highbury, it incorporates the art deco styling of the sporting relic with north London grace and charm. Polo collar with two gold stripes on the interior and a bold maroon on the outside, the jacquard fabric has a pattern reminiscent of the early 20th century, with geometric shapes and clean lines for a polished look.

Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

But it has to be the long sleeve. With three maroon stripes running all the way down to the cuffs, this will be the Magnus Opus of your kit collection: the cannon logo, retro colorway from 2007, and chevrons so subtly stitched in, this one was made with exceptional taste.