Manchester City Jerseys: Kit History, 2025-26 Kits & Buying Guide

The Complete Guide to Manchester City Jerseys: From 1884 to the 2025-26 Puma Kits

Manchester City kits are a story 140 years in the making—from a Gorton church side in black to a Premier League dynasty, with nine different Puma kits in just one calendar year. Whether you are looking for the newest 2025-26 home shirt, considering replica v authentic, or searching for retro classics for your own collection, this guide breaks down everything you need to know before purchasing.

From West Gorton to Sky Blue — How Manchester City’s Kit Identity Was Born

Manchester City F.C. was founded in 1884 as St. Mark’s (West Gorton), a church football team, traditionally based in a district of Manchester called Gorton – the same part of town that plays host to the Etihad Stadium today. Their first known kit was a basic black shirt, with a white Maltese cross embroidered on the centre.

By the early 1890s, sky blue had become the preferred colour for the club, taking pride of place on their kit for decades to come. Nobody is certain quite why the club stopped playing in black, but other early theories, other than the religious symbolism of the Maltese cross, are hard to substantiate.

Instead, it was adopted fully in the club’s crest (showing an eagle with a shield bearing a ship and three diagonal stripes, and the date 1894) and the shirts. The reason for the club switching from black to blue in the first place is still a matter of historical conjecture, but sky blue has remained the club’s primary attire for nearly everything since.

Regular updates to Manchester City’s kit provider have made for a rollercoaster 130-year kit history, the biggest changesoverlaps with the most recent decade in particular:

Now as a globally renowned kit manufacturer, in the summer of 2025 Manchester City and Puma announced the club had extended their kit deal in a record-breaking deal worth up to 1 billion over ten years — about 100 million a year. This set a new record as the highest-paying kit deal in the history of English football, beating Manchester United’s previous record deal of 122 million per year.

— Pep Guardiola, Manchester City Manager (pre-match press conference, 2024)

“It’s a symbol of the club. When fans put it on, they feel part of something bigger than football.”

Every Manchester City Kit for the 2025-26 Season

For more information on the fierce rivalry across town, see our analysis on Manchester supporter figures.

How Many Kits Does Manchester City Have This Season?

Puma has loaded the 2025-26 season with options for City shirts — regular home, away, and third kits sit alongside a tech-forward fourth shirt and a KidSuper collab for the Club World Cup, stocking Cityzens with numerous attractive choices:

Indeed, nine. Figure based on ESPN analysis, Cityzens donned nine outfield kits (in addition to their one goalkeeper kit) in just the 2025 calendar year -five in the second half of 2024-2025, and four new models designed for 2025-2026; this includes the KidSuper Club World Cup shirt and the in house black fifth and manchester city black kits. No other team in the Premier League has been able to match this.

Nine kits in one year poses a question that often pops up on supporter forums: Is the modern obsession with all new kits for fans, or all for the cash for the manufacturer? Neither side is entirely wrong. Puma’s 100-million/year deal relies on selling shirts of all types and limited-edition drops. For collectors and enthusiasts, though, more kits also mean more variety and more stories to wear.

Commercially, nothing from the 2024-25 cycle matched the Oasis-tribute fourth kit, the “Definitely Maybe” shirt. Created as a colour map based on the cover art for the band’s first album in 1994, it became the club’s highest selling kit on day-one launch, generating 71% of total revenue on opening day.

In contrast, the 2025-26 fourth kit takes a leap forward with a NFC chip embedded into the club crest. Using scanning technology, supporters can earn unique EA Sports FC26 in-game prizes – a first for any Premier League shirt.

Looking further ahead to soccer jersey design developments on the horizon, check out our report on design trends driving the 2026 market.

Replica vs Authentic Manchester City Jerseys — Which One Should You Get?

Each Puma men city kit is produced in two cuts: replica (also called “fan”) and authentic (also called “player”). While both are visually very similar from a distance, the differences in material, fit, and pricing are big enough to influence choice.

According to established insider knowledge, authentic shirts feature semi-transparent less dense performance polyester. The delivery of the premium feel comes with the downside that they require more delicate washing. Early accounts suggest that the extra lightweight construction causes the stitching around the underarms to give slightly after many uses – a small compromise for those who want the kit to perform on the pitch rather than endure the testing demands of a washing machine.

To check the difference between genuine kits and fakes, take a look at our guide on how to spot a fake kit versus the real deal.

Which Version Should You Choose?

Iconic Manchester City Retro Jerseys Worth Collecting

Much loved football shirts become a part of history for a reason – they mark moments of significance in the club’s developing story. Manchester city retro design has tended to appreciate over time, with some shirts commanding a premium on resale sites. If you are going to invest, remember these 6 kits.

1. 1969 Fa Cup Final Kit (Umbro) – historic as Manchester City’s first piece of silverware since the merger. Neil Young scored the winner at Wembley as City beat Leicester City. It’s gloriously simple: sky blue with none of the added sponsor logo, and a round neck. It was the first step to City becoming a club that wins major finals.

2. 1998-99 Kappa Third Kit – used during the Division Two playoff final against Gillingham. City were 2-0 down with just minutes remaining before Paul Dickov scored in the 95th minute, to level the final 2-2. City won on penalties. This kit is the one that provided the “great escape” – the final step to establishing the club as important and relevant. ESPN ranked the modern green-and-yellow 2024-25 replica as the best Man City kit of 2025.

3. 2011-12 Umbro Home Kit – Sergio Aguero. QPR. 93:20. The greatest-ever Premier League title race decided by a dramatic injury time goal to complete an astonishing season. If you only ever buy one classic City shirt, this would be the one.

4. 2018-19 Nike Home Kit – The season City secured a domestic treble by winning the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup in the same campaign – the first men’s club to do so in English football.

5. 2022-23 Puma Home Kit – The Treble winning season with a Champions League triumph, the Premier League, FA Cup in the bag in a season that saw Pep Guardiola create history with the sky blue jersey he wore in Istanbul against Inter Milan

6. 2024-25 Puma Away Kit – Fluorescent yellow-and-navy stripes inspired by the 1998-99 away shirt. As soon as it was launched, it became a hit with the City faithful – ESPN voted it their number one Man City kit of 2025 out of nine!

If you are interested in expanding a much broader vintage football kit collection, including classic City kits from other eras or clubs, this guide on where and how to source authentic retro football shirts and jerseys has some useful advice.

Most Popular Manchester City Player Jerseys in 2025-26

Players’ jerseys can be five or six times as popular as blank shirts. The name on the back is often the determining factor to which version of a shirt sells out the fastest. Here are the four best-selling Man City players’ jerseys into the second half of the 2025-26 campaign:

Erling Haaland #9-He has scored 22 PL goals and 33 in all contests in 2025-26 (over an entire calendar year, the numbers in the world’s most competitive league put together by NBC Sports are 52 and 41 respectively). Haaland jerseys are by far the most in demand shirt world wide at SoccerKit.

Phil Foden #47 – Been a City fan favorite since emerging through the club’s youth ranks; he was voted PL Player of the Season in 2023-24, and has kept what is an unusual number 47, which is legendary in its own right, ever since – he’s an exciting attacking midfielder.

Kevin De Bruyne #17- Widely considered one of the best-passers of all time in the Premier League. KDB jerseys are consistently statistically the best-selling City shirts worldwide – there’s tons of football fans respect his vision.

Who Is Man City Jersey Number 10?

Jack Grealish #10 – He’s the England and Manchester City No.10. Such prestigious shirt number at the club: Shaun Goater, Dzeko have also worn it. Grealish, a player with some flair and style of his own, always delivers the goods: sock pulling and an indefatigable ability to beat an opponent one v one.

How to Buy Manchester City Jerseys — Sizing, Pricing & Trusted Retailers

Identifying the best place to purchase a Manchester City soccer jersey and how to choose the right size can protect you from having to send one back. Here is a list of some of the most significant authorised retailers and what their prices are currently.

View our soccer jersey sizing chart and our comparison of sizing inconsistencies across brands for more details on sizing differences between athletic and soccer kits.

Quick Decision Guide

• ✔
  Budget under $100 → Replica from any authorised retailer above
• ✔
  Want a specific player name + number → Official Man City Store (custom printing guaranteed)
• ✔
  Buying a gift in premium packaging → Authentic + gift box from shop.mancity.com
• ✔
  Kids growing fast → Replica kit set (jersey + shorts + socks), size up one

Are you ready to buy? Purchase replica authentic or historic kits through our Manchester City football shirt collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Reviewed by the SoccerKit editorial team, jersey collectors since 2013, over 50,000 football fans worldwide.