The 2023/24 season might be nearing an end, but the pressure has started mounting on the major football shirt manufacturers. That is because the ongoing European leagues’ might be ending towards the end of May, but the 2024/25 campaign isn’t far away.
For most teams, the regular season starts in August but pre-season begins in July itself. That means the designers have a few meager months to launch their new kit designs for the 2024/25 season. As is normal procedure, the home kits are rolled out first followed by the away and third kits. Some teams, like Bayern Munich and Liverpool, have already launched their home kit for next season way before other major teams.
Now, the third kit designs for some major European teams are also being leaked in tandem. Normally, third kits are worn by teams in away European games or sometimes in domestic away games too. It appears that Adidas have already finalized the third kit for two of their major European clients in Manchester United and Juventus.
The Red Devils recently had their third kit for the 2024/25 season leaked. It appears that Adidas is sticking to the white color that their current attire has, with alterations in the design. The Manchester United upcoming third kit is set to be an off-white kit with a red, white, and carbon-colored flag printed on the chest region. It has a round-neck collar design, a change from the polo collars that Adidas appears to have designed for their away kit. The shirt is to be fitted with black shorts.
What helps it stand out from the other United kits is the trefoil Adidas logo along with the Red Devils’ logo in carbon too. Moreover, a small version of the flag is also imprinted on the back of the kit, with the club’s inscribed into it too. It appears that Adidas is paying homage to the away kit that the Red Devils wore in the 1997/98 season.
Umbro made that attire and it also featured the red, black and white colored flags in the front of the attire. With that being said, Manchester United needs to secure a top-7 finish in the Premier League to actually get to wear this kit in European matches this season. If not, then they’ll have to wear it in the Premier League or cup away trips instead.
Adidas are not only earning praise for their slick design for United’s third kit, but also for how well they’ve made the upcoming Juventus alternate attire look. The Bianconeri are poised to make a comeback to the UEFA Champions League next season and are to don a very unique kit for their away clashes.
The Juventus 24/25 third kit is to be a predominantly anthracite color (coal black) featuring golden logos. Just like the Manchester United one, Adidas is going to design its trefoil logo into this alternate shirt too. Moreover, there will also be a swap in the club crest from the basic Juventus logo (which features the J letter with three stars on top) with the blurred silhouette of the club’s iconic zebra logo.
In the 1980s, Juventus had first introduced the Zebra on their club crest and it has since become a tradition. Their club mascot, for example, is a zebra too. Adidas appears to have opted for a polo-neck collar design for this simplistic design which is earning a lot of praise from Bianconeri supporters.
Not to be outdone, Nike also seems to have fought back against Adidas with a new leak of their design of Tottenham Hotspur’s 24/25 third kit. Spurs have missed out on Champions League football, but will play in the UEFA Europa League next season.
It appears that Nike has opted for a radical change in colors for their third kit. Going from their current beige kit, the American manufacturers have now designed a rather glittering mint green kit with dark green, white, and light golden patterns. This has green water-drop-like shapes designed all over the front and a round-neck collar design.
Nike has decided to implement its ‘vertical swoosh’ logo into this third kit and also a retro-inspired Spurs club crest design. This is a combination of the current Tottenham logo with the crest that was used in the late 1990s kits, which features a chicken on top of a football inside a green crest. Under it, the latin words ‘audere est facere’, which means ‘to dare is to do’ can also be seen. It appears that this shirt will be accompanied by matching dark green shorts and socks.
This Spurs leaked kit seems to be paying homage to the third kit that the players wore in the 2018/19 season, when they reached the UEFA Champions League final. That is probably why the Lilywhites’ faithful are so pleased with this design, especially praising the retro crest design and its vibrant appearance.
FootyHeadlines hints that all three third kits are likely to be released in either August or September. What Adidas and Nike will hope is that their experiments work a charm in attracting fans to hoard millions of these kits and make them a healthy profit for their hard work.