The 25 best retro football shirts of all time – ranked
Retro football shirts have never been more popular than they are today.
While there are some eye-wateringly beautiful modern kits, there is something about that vintage look that just hits different. The baggy fit, the wonderfully garish designs and the nostalgia they bring, retro shirts simply can’t be beaten for most football fans.
There have been some absolute corkers over the years at both club and, in particular, international level and while football fashion often divides opinion, many old-school kits are unanimously loved.
For the sake of these rankings, we are classing retro shirts as anything made pre-2010 and there are plenty of sensational bangers to choose from.
Here are the 25 greatest retro shirts of all time – ranked.
Real Madrid 1999 Away by Adidas 🇪🇸
Stunning black away shirt worn when Los Blancos beat Valencia in the 2000 Champions League Final!
— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) March 11, 2022
Despite being the biggest club in world football, Real Madrid actually don’t have too many stunning kits. Their home jerseys are often remarkably plain, with the more modern shirts more than a little dull.
But the early adidas years were pretty spectacular, as exemplified by the 1999/01 away shirt. A clean black look with some striking orange, a neat collar and a sexy sponsor, this screams class.
France have had some belters over the years and their 1990s jerseys were a sight to behold. While their 1994 home jersey almost made the cut, this 1996/98 away number is about as good as adidas templates come.
The insanely eye-catching three stripes over the shoulders in the red and blue of the French flag and the spell-out manufacturer logo, this is a stunner. That collar is pretty sweet, too.
This is a shirt that has aged pretty well. It’s unlikely to have been flying off the shelves in the 1990s given its colour scheme and off-centre ‚Newcastle Brown Ale‘ sponsor, but nowadays it sets supporters back a small fortune.
Whoever came up with this navy, green and orange jersey may have got some funny looks at the time, but they have produced a kit that is now truly iconic for Toon supporters.
Man City 1997 Away by Kappa 🔥
This beauty will be hitting the site very soon! 👀 pic.twitter.com/3pmx5fq2pl
— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) January 10, 2022
Kappa were the kings of the 1990s and Manchester City were fortunate enough to partner with them for a number of years. Pretty much all the shirts they made for the Sky Blues were gorgeous, but the 1997/98 away jersey may be the best of a brilliant bunch.
The old ‚Brother‘ sponsor is pretty special and is highlighted by a beautiful horizontal burgundy stripe, with the Kappa taping across the shoulders and sleeves a work of art.
Mbappe in the PSG 2006 Away 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/YEcM1CcQIP
— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) December 8, 2023
Despite having no official connection with the brand, the PSG 2006/07 away shirt is affectionately known as the ‚Louis Vuitton shirt‘ for its subliminal pattern.
PSG are basically one enormous fashion brand these days, with this wonderful deep brown jersey a truly unique offering that paved the way for the French side’s modern classics.
Another 1990s shirt, another adidas banger.
Bayern Munich were one of the many beneficiaries of adidas‘ golden era of shirt production, with this particular template employed effectively by the Bundesliga giants.
There is no other Bayern shirt quite like this one, with the yellow, black and green bouncing off each other beautifully.
The oldest kit in this list, the 1980s was when football shirts started to look like more than just a plain t-shirt with a number hand-stitched into the back.
Chelsea’s 1983/85 home shirt is a great example of an early classic, with some beautiful horizontal striping with some lovely touches of red. Le Coq Sportif sure used to know how to make excellent kits.
Mexico’s 1998 World Cup home shirt is one of the greatest international shirts of all-time.
This design was worn in their opening game against South Korea and in the second round against Germany. The shirt was also worn in the other group stage matches by goalkeeper Campos.
— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) January 25, 2022
Kits don’t get much bolder than Mexico’s Aztec-inspired 1998 World Cup number, a shirt that is genuinely painful to stare at for too long.
It is widely regarded as an all-time classic despite often dividing opinion, but fans might not see another kit like it ever again.
Just in case the legendary yellow and green wasn’t enough to tell this was indeed a Brazil shirt, Umbro decided to stick four enormous Brazil badges on the front of the jersey.
Somewhat surprisingly, it actually works, elevating the legendary colour scheme of the South American giants.
PSV 1995 Away by Nike 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/UKfxROzTlU
— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) April 24, 2024
While adidas were the darlings of the 1990s, Nike also made some corkers. This PSV Eindhoven away shirt is one of said corkers, with a delightful purple and black colour scheme and a larger than life collar that has a checkerboard pattern on it.
That ‚Philips‘ sponsor is needlessly large and unnecessarily high up, but it just works, especially with the vertical stripes underneath it.
Similarly to the aforementioned Brazil jersey, Nigeria wanted this kit to make the team it represented obvious. If the badge wasn’t enough, they decided to simply write Nigeria in massive writing across the upper abdomen.
Nigeria shirts always pop and this retro Nike banger is no different, with a sensational collar and wonderful balance of green and white.
adidas seriously need to bring back the famous trefoil. Look at it on this 1992/93 Milan home shirt and argue it doesn’t instantly make it a classic.
The famous red and black stripes of Milan seldom look anything less than gorgeous, with the old school badge and ‚Motta‘ sponsor adding to this shirt’s beauty.
Borussia Dortmund’s ‚highlighter‘ kits of the 1990s were something else and any of them would be worthy of a place in this list. However, the pattern across the neck and sleeves on the 1993/94 home jersey is just astonishing.
That sponsor is frighteningly large and the old spell-out Nike logo is just *chef’s kiss*.
Known as the ’snowflake‘ shirt, this is undoubtedly Man Utd’s greatest shirt of the 1990s adidas era. It’s just a stunner, even being replicated during the 2021/22 season due to its popularity among supporters.
The clash between the red and the blue is just perfect, while that ‚Sharp‘ sponsor can’t be beaten.
Inter don’t do bad kits. They are one of the few sides to still produce classics year after year, even in the modern era.
But their 1990s stuff was on another level, with this 1991/92 home shirt the best out there. It looks even better in long sleeves, with the gold of the badge and manufacturer logo just popping on that famous black and blue backdrop.
FC Porto 1997-98 away shirt made by Kappa as worn when the side won their fourth Liga title in a row#FCPorto pic.twitter.com/7jUJWk5LSY
— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) October 22, 2017
Who doesn’t want a shirt with a dragon on it, eh?
Porto and Kappa were a match made in heaven during the late 1990s and it’s a shame that the two didn’t work together more often. If this striking orange 1997/98 away jersey is anything to go by, they would have created some memorable numbers.
Fiorentina 1992 Player Issue Home by Lotto
— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) January 5, 2022
The iconic purple of Fiorentina is tough to beat, especially when adding a ludicrously large ‚7up‘ sponsor to it. The Italian side also famously wore ‚Nintendo‘ sponsored shirts in the 1990s, but the design of this Lotto kit is unmatched.
The light pattern just pops on a classy shirt, with the thick white collar standing out in particular.
1990s adidas shirts are generally winners, but come on, just look at this 1991/92 Liverpool home shirt modelled by the great John Barnes.
That ‚Candy‘ sponsor is ridiculously clean and that retro Liverpool crest is simply beautiful. adidas need to revive their bold use of the three stripes.
Ajax 1989-90 away by Umbro 🔵⚪🔴
Ajax’s best away kit? pic.twitter.com/gAwf6jO5QT
— Vintage Football Shirts (@VFshirts) December 16, 2021
adidas shirts get plenty of coverage, but Umbro were also true heavyweights of the 1980s and 1990s. It’s difficult to make a bad Ajax jersey, as has been proved recently, but this 1989/90 shirt is different gravy.
The seemingly random geometric pattern is simply hypnotic, while the retro Ajax crest is beyond beautiful.
England were feeling particularly patriotic when they designed their 1992/93 third shirt alongside Umbro, sticking three enormous lions across the chest.
Mixed with a pale blue base, it looks sensational and it’s another holy grail piece for collectors across the world. The best shirt England have ever made and that’s saying something.
Oh, Kappa. Another example of the manufacturer’s brilliance, this Barcelona home shirt is one of the greatest club jerseys ever made. Everything about it is perfect, from the Kappa taping to the subliminal Barca pattern.
Barca have had some unbelievable shirts over the years, but it’s unlikely that anything will ever top this.
Arsenal are another side renowned for their stylish shirts, but the fabled ‚Bruised Banana‘ jersey is unrivalled. Something about the chevron pattern and the red accents work wonderfully.
Arsenal have had plenty of nods to this famous shirt over the years, but nothing will ever be able to trump the real thing.
The first and only Hummel shirt in the rankings, the manufacturer’s love affair with Denmark began in the 1980s. This was one of the first kits they ever produced for the Scandinavians and it remains one of the most iconic of all time.
The half-and-half pinstripe look is so unique, or at least it was until Hummel remade this shirt for a whole bunch of their partnered teams for the 2023/24 season, including the likes of Southampton, Koln and Werder Bremen.
West Germany were lucky to don this shirt for a three-year period and it is still one of the most cherished shirts the world has ever seen. The German flag pattern is beautifully random, perfectly clashing with the white base of the jersey.
Germany have always had some stunning kits, but nothing even comes close to competing with this extraordinary banger.
The most famous football shirt of all time, the Netherlands‘ iconic Euro 1988 strip is still one of the most sought after kits. This shirt in good condition could easily set a fan back £500 these days.
But it’s clear to see why it is so expensive given its rarity and beauty, with the Dutch offering up the classiest shirt of them all.