Which top club is 2024-25's best dressed?
-
Chris Wright, Toe Poke writer
With club football back on the menu across Europe, it won’t be long until the 2024-25 season begins in Spain’s LaLiga, Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1.
You may be wondering whether Real Madrid will hold off Barcelona to retain their title, whether Bayern Munich will reclaim domestic dominance after Bayer Leverkusen‘s historic year, or who from an open field will reign supreme in Italy.
To which we would say, who cares? The most important thing is how all of those teams will be dressed this season.
With that in mind, we’ve taken a close look at all the outfield kits (home, away and third) that have been released by the clubs in Europe’s top leagues who will be competing in this season’s revamped Champions League.
As with our ranking of the Premier League’s kits (who aren’t included in this ranking), each club’s combined kit output has been ranked counting down to No. 1, but that order could change. So keep checking back here to see the latest kits added as they are unveiled, and see how they impact the ranking.
Home: Some clubs don’t have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to revamping their home kit. Stuttgart are in that category — their trademark white jersey with a horizontal red band has remained more or less intact since the 1920s. Not much has changed since last season either, other than the removal of the ripple/sprinkle effect that peppered their 2023-24 shirt.
Away: The jersey in question is the shirt in the middle here (the other two are this season’s goalkeeper kits,) which is a straight-up reversal of the home shirt. Stuttgart sometimes have a daring splash of black thrown into the mix, but we’re not even given that this year.
16. Brest (Adidas)
Home: Brest pulled off a shock on the final day of the Ligue 1 season by leapfrogging Lille into third place and thus qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in their history. Alas, their maiden voyage into Europe’s top club competition will be made in an uninspiring ensemble that is also likely to be further stripped of its patchwork of sponsor logos in order to comply with UEFA’s strict rules.
Away: Living up to their nickname of Les Pirates, Brest have at least put a little conceptual thought into their away kit. It is presented as a celebration of the French port city’s maritime history and in particular the traditional striped Breton shirts worn by sailors from the region.
Third: Caution was clearly thrown to the wind when it came to Brest’s third kit, which has a metallic grey bed overlaid with dark-blue dots in a diminishing pattern. The result looks like something that more illustrious Ligue 1 rivals Lyon might have rejected, but we commend Brest for having a go at cooking up something a little more esoteric.
Home: There is nothing revolutionary about Atalanta’s latest home kit; it’s essentially a collarless version of the trusty black-and-blue striped shirt they wore when winning the Europa League final last season. This time, though, it is emblazoned with the oversized red logo of an Italian mineral water brand that was formerly plastered all over the jerseys of Serie A rivals Napoli.
Away: Atalanta do manage some artistic expression when it comes to their away kits, though their 2024-25 effort is hardly the most elaborate on display here. It’s white with a black-and-blue horizontal band that is strapped across the chest and echoed on the collar and cuffs. Simple, but effective.
Home: Almost identical to their 2023-24 home jersey but with the flappy collar removed, Bologna are once again decked out in sleek Rossoblù stripes in much the same way they have been since the early 1960s. Nothing much has altered since then, except this season they’ll be wearing them in the Champions League for the first time.
Away: After dabbling with a sash last season, Bologna’s new away kit puts their club colours into a horizontal band across the chest. The band is a nod to the shirts worn by the club during the 1924-25 season, in which they won the first of their seven Scudettos. They didn’t have a sponsor’s logo across the front back then, of course.
Home: RB Leipzig are rarely understated when it comes to their kits and this year’s batch is no exception. The home shirt is predominantly white with what looks like blood stains smeared frantically across the front. In fact, the corrugated zig-zags are intended to resemble the panelling on the main building at the University of Leipzig … Which would have been our second guess.
Away: With various complementary shades of burgundy, maroon and crimson brushed diagonally across the shirt, Leipzig’s away kit proves that Bayern aren’t the only club in Germany who can make red-on-red jerseys work.
Third: Unveiled in downtown New York, Leipzig’s third kit is a visual encapsulation of the bright lights and bustling energy you tend to have to put up with in major cities. It’s a striking effort, even if it looks like something one of the more stylised Formula 1 pit crews might wear on race day.
Home: The wiggly stripes are borrowed from the club crest, whichis itself based on the official coat of arms of the city of Girona. The pattern is meant to represent the river Onyar, which flows directly through the middle of the city. The Catalan club will certainly stand out when they make their Champions League debut this season.
Away: A deep navy blue jersey is bisected by a sash running diagonally across the torso in the yellow and red stripes of the Catalan flag, La Senyera. It’s a distinctive and stylish salute to the club’s home region of Spain, and the jersey was posted on their social media along with the slogan: “Orgullosos de qui som” (“Proud of who we are.”)
Third: There’s no great concept or overarching theme at play here, just a basic Puma template design that has been given a pink and purple palette. It does the job, but it’s hardly spectacular.
Home: You’d think it would be impossible to make a hash of Inter’s iconic aesthetic, yet the club continue to confound us over and over again. Rather than keeping it simple and hitting the easiest of home runs, the Nerazzurri have unfortunately spoiled what was almost a perfectly handsome shirt by tacking on a quadrant of off-kilter stripes to the left side of the torso and adjacent sleeve. So close, and yet so far.
Away: Thankfully, Inter’s away kit is an altogether classier affair. The richly textured jersey is the lightest of greys, has a neat folded collar and clean dark lines on the sleeves and shoulders. According to Nike, inspiration is drawn from the city’s history of fine tailoring and fashion. Who are we to argue when the result looks like this?
Home: The traditional design of Dortmund’s new home jersey will no doubt come as a relief for those who struggled with last season’s stylised tribute to Signal Iduna Park. The array of thin stripes is inspired by the classic neon yellow kit the German club wore when they won the Champions League in 1996-97. To be honest the resemblance is extremely vague, but it’s a solid shirt on its own terms.
Third: Clean as a whistle and sharp as a tack, the white-out third kit is a tribute to Dortmund’s first-ever home ground, which was known as “The White Meadow” and functioned as the club’s base during the 1920s and ’30s. The pristine monotone kit looks fabulous, but we can only imagine this thing will be a magnet for mud and grass stains once the weather begins to turn.
Cup: As always, Dortmund have released an alternate version of their home shirt to be worn during cup competitions. This year’s effort is a hideous mash-up (seriously, do they ever look good?) that stitches together asymmetrical swatches of several other home and cup kits that Puma have supplied for the club since taking the reins in 2012. Thumbs down.
Home: After slogging through a trophyless year to forget last season, Bayern were quick to ditch their cursed white home jersey and replace it with a revamped design that could hardly be more red. There are, in fact, three shades of red, which will please all the fans who were angered by the club abandoning their iconic colour last season. However, none of that will matter if the Bavarians don’t get back to winning ways while wearing it.
Away: Bayern’s new away jersey is inspired by the giant statue of the spirit of Bavaria that has stood in the centre of Munich since the 19th century. In reality, that equates to a kind of mottled, crusty effect that is intended to replicate the aged patina that covers the 18-metre monument. It’s not good. In fact, it’s slightly unpleasant and looks like it could stand a rigorous wash.
Third: The antidote to that statue-inspired mess is one of the most handsome kits in Europe this season, Bayern’s third kit is an exquisite off-white number with dual-tone red trim and a lozenge pattern woven into the material that is inspired by the 1970s-era club crest that has been applied to the chest.
Home: Barcelona are marking their 125th anniversary season with a lovely half-and-half shirt based on the one they wore when they played their first match in 1899. They then revived the design in 1999-00, the club’s centenary, and again in 2008-09, when a budding young coach by the name of Pep Guardiola took his team to Spanish football’s first ever LaLiga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble.
Home: Having experimented with various wave and brushstroke effects on their famous red-and-white stripes in recent years, Atlético have once again opted for a non-traditional approach for 2024-25. This season, their stripes will be bordered thin blue outlines, while pinstripes which go through the colours of the spectrums run down the middle of the white sections.
Away: A cool grey lends Atleti’s away shirt an air of easy style, with the bold red-and-white trim providing the necessary highlights to lift the design above the ordinary. The textured pattern of the fabric gives the impression that the jersey is made of concrete — fitting for a team built very much in coach Diego Simeone’s rugged image.
Home: After being bumped around the shirt, inverted and even ending up on the sleeve cuffs at one point in recent years, PSG’s iconic “Hechter” stripe has been restored to its rightful place down the middle of their new home kit. A faint brushstroke effect is detectable therein but hopefully it’s subtle enough to placate the club’s ultras, who had previously complained about the disrespect being shown to their hallowed red-and-white stripe.
Away: Looking like it was lifted straight from an old Parisian tourist brochure, the PSG away kit is dominated by a stylised image of the Eiffel Tower. That dated aesthetic is actually deliberate as the “painting” of the iconic landmark is a throwback to a very similar graphic that appeared on two PSG kits in the early 1990s.
Home: With golden Bundesliga badges glistening on the black sleeves, Leverkusen will defend their first-ever title in a smart red kit befitting the reigning champions. While the base design is fairly straightforward, the imprint in the fabric has lots of interesting elements — from an aerial map of the city, to the Leverkusen coat of arms, to the symbols found on the underside of the Leverkusen-Bürrig (a huge, UFO-shaped water tower that dominates the skyline.)
Away: There is even more gold on the club’s new away shirt. However, the shimmering crest and manufacturer logo are actually in reference to the club’s 120th anniversary celebrations, and was actually before Xabi Alonso’s side sealed their historic triumph last season.
Third: Debuted in the recent friendly against Arsenal, the majority of Leverkusen’s new third alternate jersey is black with contrasting white panels beneath the arms, while the logos and sponsors are applied in what effectively amounts to “toothpaste” blue. The intricate light grey graphic in the material is actually a salute to the graffiti art found on walls around the city.
Home: Monaco are celebrating their centenary this year, so it’s no surprise that they have gone for a very similar home shirt to those they have been sporting for the majority of their history. Instead of the usual thick red sash across a white background, though, the red section extends all the way up to the shoulders.
Away: The deep-green away kit uses a subtle print motif to celebrate different elements of Monaco’s history on their 100th birthday. The pattern is made up of silhouettes of the unconventional architecture of their Stade Louis II stadium, details from the royal tapestries found in the throne room at the Prince’s Palace and various other emblematic motifs taken from around the Principality.
Third: Monaco’s ice-white third kit may look at first glance to be a plain design, but it does feature a wavy contour graphic. This is intended to evoke images of some of the Principality’s contemporary architecture such as Le Stella tower, the Palais de la Plage and the Testimonio buildings. Très chic!
Home: It won’t come as much of a surprise to learn that Los Blancos have gone for a white home kit this season. They’ve also cycled through their mini-spectrum of approved trim colours and landed back on black for 2024-25. The houndstooth knit in the fabric is inspired by the traditional “Chulapo” jackets and waistcoats worn by the people of Madrid during the city’s annual San Isidro festival.
Away: Madrid’s new away jersey is a vivid shade of golden orange, similar to that worn in 2013-14 — the season when they completed their quest for La Decima by winning a 10th European Cup/Champions League. Now, a decade on, they have 15 wins to their name. The jersey also features an angular, star-shaped graphic print which is appropriate given they have added Kylian Mbappé to their squad this summer.
Third: Part of Adidas’ retro range of third alternate jerseys with the throwback “trefoil” logo, Real Madrid’s version is a sleek dark grey polo shirt which is covered in a chic “RMCF” monogram akin to high-end luxury luggage.
Home: It’s no coincidence that their 125th anniversary year has seen Milan ditch the experimental chevrons of 2023-24 in favour of a return to a timeless take on their beloved Rossoneri stripes. It is destined to be a winner with calcio purists and kit connoisseurs alike, which is a rare thing.
Away: Unveiled with a novel “quick change” stunt during their recent preseason friendly against Manchester City, Milan’s 2024-25 away kit is a nod to the club’s roots as a football and cricket club founded by English expats at the turn of the 20th century. A beautiful, crisp white shirt is light on gimmickry as a dress collar, elegant monochrome logos and a tasteful flash of red trim complete the picture.
Home: After veering off the beaten path several times in recent years with home kits daubed in animal print and weird half-and-half arrangements, Juve have kept things nice and simple for 2024-25 with a traditional striped jersey. However, just for fun, it features a craggy graphic in the fabric that is inspired by the surface of the moon. Because of course it does.
Away: The space theme continues on Juve’s new away kit, which manufacturer Adidas says takes its cues from interstellar exploration and the galaxies beyond our own. This probably makes more sense from a marketing perspective than telling the truth, which is that it is clearly inspired by the packaging of a tub of off-brand margarine. Still, when it works, it works.
Third: While the third alternate is not as rigidly adhered to the astral concept as the other two — this dusky blue jersey is meant to reflect the night sky — but that hardly matters. The textured weave adds to the classy look of this polo shirt, while the golden silhouette of a prancing zebra — a symbol first used on Juve uniforms in the early 1980s — stands out beautifully.
