Barcelona launched the Hansi Flick era with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Valencia at the Mestalla to kick off the 2024/25 La Liga campaign.
The game itself was a dramatic one with a lot of twists and turns, but something that confused millions watching was the kit that the Blaugrana opted to wear.
As it was an away game, Barca were not allowed to wear their new 2024/25 home kit and had to settle for an alternative attire.
Instead, they opted to wear their ‘Senyera kit’ which is their fourth kit. This is a special attire that has been worn by the team to honor their Catalan heritage and roots to the region.
The Senyera kit is a yellow kit with the Senyera Flag incorporated in the middle. In their current version, the Senyera Flag is represented through the three red stripes in the middle.
On top of the flag, the club crest is also added to give it a special effect. Barcelona appear to have retained the same Senyera kit they wore last season for the 2024/25 campaign too.
They were forced into wearing this for the 2024/25 La Liga opener because of certain complications arising for their official away kit for the campaign.
Barcelona have actually not even been able to officially launch their 24/25 away attire for the season due issues with Nike. As a result, only the 2023/24 away kit is available on their online store.
In March (2024), the club’s president Joan Laporta had revealed that they were going to terminate their sponsorship contract with Nike as they felt the brand didn’t pay them the right amount of money.
This issue turned into a legal matter and a court ruled that Barcelona cannot legally terminate their deal with Nike, which runs up until 2028.
But Barca and Nike have been holding discussions to ‘fix’ their relationship and the American giants are even ready to offer them improved terms.
The two parties are reportedly close to agreeing to this new agreement and the La Liga side are reportedly looking for as much as £110 million per year from the shirt sponsorship deal.
As a result of this tug-of-war between the two parties, the plans for launching their 2024/25 kits have been heavily impacted.
Nike was forced to delay Barcelona’s home kit unveiling for this campaign after they reportedly made a typography error in the kits.
The American manufacturers apparently printed the kits with an old Spotify logo and had to recall all the shirts before making new ones that reflected the new and improved logo of Barcelona’s front-of-shirt sponsors.
Certain issues have now crept up in launching Barca’s away kit for this ongoing campaign.
This one is reportedly set to be launched in late August, which could allow the Blaugrana to start wearing them after the September 2024 international break.
The Barcelona away kit has already been leaked. It’s black attire with blue and red stripes on each sides and monochrome badges.
A lot of off-the-field drama has engulfed Barcelona into a vulnerable financial situation and also caused them to compromise on their kits.
But with their relationship with Nike seemingly set to continue, it’s only a matter of time before their new away and third kits are launched.
