25 Best Retro Kits Ever: According to Football Fans

Great football jerseys become the talk of the town for a season, but the truly iconic designs reign for decades. Voted on by fans like you, here are the best retro kits ever.

How We Chose the Best Retro Kits Ever

After analysing decades of fan votes and posts from BBC, News24, Givemesports, Mystery United, and nine other outlets, our team of jersey design experts assembled this definitive list of the most-voted retro jerseys.

25 Best Retro Football Kits of All Time

Let’s get right to it!

1. West Germany 1990 Home

With its unique zigzag design of Germany’s black, red and gold colours running from one shoulder to the other, Adidas ushered in a new era of bold designs. The team made the kit more memorable with their World Cup triumph. Arguably the best national team jersey ever made.

Here’s a perfect match of one of the greatest squads ever donning one of the best retro football kits ever. Paired with blue shorts, it features a rich, golden-yellow base with green accents on its crew neck and cuffs. Simple and sweet.

3. England 1966 Away

Designed by Umbro, the shirt is dominantly red, with long sleeves and a crew neck. The classic Three Lions crest is embroidered on the left chest. It was famously worn in the 1966 World Cup final victory against West Germany.

Complemented with the Dutch team winning their first and only major trophy, Adidas paired the bold orange base with matching orange shorts. Its white V-neck fits perfectly with the geometric arrowhead pattern of interlocking triangles across the chest and shoulders.

5. England 1990 Home

Umbro at it again. The kit has the typical white base of English jerseys, paired with navy blue shorts. Its details include a navy-blue fold-down collar with a button, geometric shadow patterns and some subtle stripe detailing on the sleeves.

6. Nigeria 2018 Home

A call back to Nigeria’s World Cup debut kit in 1994, Nike gave it a bright green base with a jagged pattern of white zigzag lines in the similitude of an eagle’s wing. The sleeves carry the same pattern with white and black graphics.

7. Arsenal 1991–93 Away — “Bruised Banana”

One of the best retro kits of the Premier League era, it has a vibrant yellow base with navy/black geometric zig-zag pattern covering all over. With a multi-coloured crew-style collar, Adidas designed all brand names and logos in red.

8. Denmark 1986 Home

A half-and-half design with a white base and thin, red vertical pinstripes on one side and solid red on the other. Hummel has its trademark diagonal chevrons on both sleeves, with a white and black V-neck collar. 

9. Arsenal 2005–06 Home — Highbury

Arsenal bade goodbye to Highbury with one of the best retro football kits ever. Designed by Nike with a deep redcurrant base, it features a fold-over polo collar with gold accents on the Nike swoosh, the club crest and the sponsor. 

10. Argentina 1986 Home

Made more famous and iconic by Diego Armando Maradona and Argentina’s World Cup triumph, it was designed by French brand Le Coq Sportif. It features the traditional sky blue and white vertical stripes with a white crew-neck collar and black shorts. 

11. AC Milan 1988–90 Home

The iconic jersey embodies the club’s classic Rossoneri red and black vertical stripes. Designed by Kappa, it has a V-neck collar and was worn during one of AC Milan’s most legendary eras, "Immortals", winning back-to-back Champions League trophies, among others.

12. England 1990 Third

Standing tall among England’s best retro kits of all-time, the jersey features a sky-blue base with a subtle geometric diamond pattern. Manufactured by Umbro, it has a dark navy fold-over collar with white ribbed stripes and matching patterned cuffs.

13. Celtic 1967 Home

Conforming to the standard of its day, the kit is without any brand name, logo or crest. The jersey features the club’s iconic green and white hoops with a white crew-neck collar. It was famously worn by the European Cup-winning Lisbon Lions.

14. Newcastle United 1995–97 Home

Designed by Adidas, the classic jersey has bold, vertical black-and-white stripes all over it. It’s complemented with a grandad-style collar with a button placket, three Adidas blue stripes on the sleeves, and a “Newcastle Brown Ale” circular logo in the centre.

15. Liverpool 1984 Home

Worn during the club’s historic treble-winning season, it is characterised by a simple red design with subtle pinstripes. Designed by Umbro, it has red and white accents across the cuffs and on its classic V-neck design.

16. Ajax 1971 Home

With no logo or club crest, Ajax players wore this kit to win their first European Cup trophy. It features a white base with a broad red vertical stripe running down the centre of the chest and back and a crew-neck collar. 

17. Manchester United 1990-92 Away

Featuring a bold, kaleidoscopic geometric pattern of interlocking blue and white zigzag triangles, it is one of United’s best retro kits ever. Its details include a white V-neck, red and white striped sleeve cuffs, the Adidas logo, and the bold red “SHARP” across the chest.

18. Chelsea 1970 Home

Worn during the Blues’ FA Cup final replay victory, the kit is a simple, minimalist design in bright royal blue. Paired with matching blue shorts, the long-sleeve kit has a crew-neck collar and features no brand name or logo.

19. Boca Juniors 1981 Home

Manufactured by Adidas, the jersey is a classic royal blue shirt with a bold, golden-yellow horizontal stripe running across the chest. It features yellow accents on the crew neck, the “CABJ” crest and the three stripes down the sleeves. 

20. England Women 2019 Home

It was the first bespoke design made exclusively for the Lionesses, different from the men's team kit. It has a white base with dark red cuffs. Paired with matching white shorts, the design was made by Nike.

21. Cameroon 2002 Home

PUMA was a bit controversial with this one, as the dark forest green kit was designed sleeveless, like a basketball jersey. It has yellow accents on its chest, collar and shoulders. While they won the 2002 AFCON with it, it was banned by FIFA for the 2002 World Cup.

22. Barcelona 1997 Away

Designed unconventionally by Kappa, the retro kit has a bright orange base and a bold vertical blue stripe running down the centre that is bordered by black stripes on both sides. With dark blue shoulder stripes, it features blue and red accents on its cuffs and collar.

23. Colombia 1990 Home

The Adidas retro kit has a rich yellow base with diagonal, tricolour shoulder stripes in dark blue and red. Its crew neck features yellow and red detailing and was worn during the nation’s historic run at the Italy World Cup.

24 Belgium 1984 Home

With this, Adidas designed one of the most stylish retro kits of all-time. Having a Belgian red base, it's a white chest band with a geometric argyle-style diamond pattern designed on it. Its fold-over collar is also in red.

25. Mexico 1978 Home

The retro kit, designed by American denim brand Levi’s, has a vibrant green base with red and white accents on its sleeve cuffs and V-neck collar. It is traditionally paired with plain white shorts.

Whether you are reliving some of football’s greatest eras and teams, or you are discovering these legendary kits for the first time, these iconic retro kits are proof that the best kits never go out of style.

As a fan, why shouldn’t you own one of these iconic classics? Explore our carefully curated collection of retro football shirts. Don’t just remember history; wear it.

If you can’t find your choice of retro kit in our store, contact us and we’ll get it for you.