Joao Felix, the Portuguese star forward and Chelsea’s latest signing in this window from Atletico Madrid, had a rather interesting request to Chelsea and their kit manufacturer Nike.
In a video posted online, Felix, who is going to wear no.14 can be seen talking about the kit and how he likes to wear and play in long sleeves. Much to his disappointment Chelsea, and moreover Nike in recent times don’t do long sleeves.
Joao Felix wore long sleeves during his time at Atletico and can be seen asking Nike to provide personalised long sleeve versions of the kit.
Long sleeved shirts, once a common sight in Premier League matches have now become increasingly rare, even in the coldest of weather.
Over the past couple of years it can be seen that even players that did sport the long sleeve look started to wear Nike’s Dri-Fit undershirts instead. It’s not just the players Nike also doesn’t give clubs the option to sell long sleeve jerseys to fans.
The pivot by Nike from long sleeve jersey concept to bringing in the undershirt or Dri-Fit idea can be suspected as a response to a push by American sports brand Under Armour.
The rise in popularity of Under Armour’s base layer technology in the US drove the likes of Nike and Adidas to take action and create their own versions.
While Nike had already lost considerable ground in the American sports world, they used this as an opportunity to get ahead in the international market and chose Manchester United and more specifically Wayne Rooney to launch the new look in the 2007/08 season.
Fast forward 4 years Manchester United were contractually obligated in the 2011/12 season to wear only short sleeves or short sleeves and a Nike brand base layer/undershirt.
This pivot allowed Nike to focus solely on their Dri Fit technology, that is a high-performance, microfiber polyester fabric that wicks sweat away from the body, keeping athletes dry and comfortable. This technology allows for better temperature regulation, which is crucial during high-intensity matches.
With the focus now completely shifting towards skin tight shirts, by not just Nike but other manufacturers, clubs often don’t use long sleeve kits and kit manufacturers don’t retail them either, purely from the view that if the players don’t wear it, it won’t sell in the club stores as well.
Although all this does make it seem like Joao Felix’s request to Nike might not be granted, top players like Mbappe, Griezmann, and Ronaldo have sported the long sleeve look for their nations, implying that if a star player wants a long sleeve jersey, Nike does design one for them.
Fans on Twitter continue to push for Felix’s wish to be granted, as there is no doubt that when a skillful and creative attacking player sports a long sleeve look it almost looks elegant, with fans comparing what Felix could do to prime Eden Hazard who tore up the league sporting the long sleeve look at times.