Manchester City‘s grim performance in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday was reflected in their chosen attire for the occasion at Villa Park.
Pep Guardiola’s side wore their 2025-26 third kit — a grotty grey design inspired, perhaps fittingly, by the Manchester rain — for the first time this season. It may well be the last.
As well as putting most fans off their matchday pies, the sight of the jersey with a drizzle-print graphic and neon green trim also meant that City have now worn no fewer than nine different outfield kits supplied by manufacturer Puma in this calendar year; five in the latter half of the 2024-25 season and a further four already this campaign.
Given that City’s players are almost averaging one different kit per month in 2025, we though we would list and rank all of the various home, away, third, fourth and special edition shirts that they have sported in competitive fixtures since January.
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9. Manchester City 2025-26 third kit
Last place by a country mile, we don’t even want to know what wasin the water at Puma headquarters when the team responsible set about drawing up this lurid grey and green eyesore. All of the colours clash horribly, and the rain-spattered graphic was devised as a testament to Manchester’s infamous cloudy skies.
8. Manchester City 2024-25 home kit
City’s home shirt failed to grow on us last season. The neck detail, featuring the Manchester telephone area code number (0161) really does look quite naff in hindsight. The concept was flimsy, and the execution was even weaker.
7. Manchester City 2024-25 third kit
In theory, a burgundy-and-gold third kit could and perhaps should have been an instant hit for City, especially as the colours have been synonymous with the club since the 1950s. Unfortunately, the all-over graphics (inspired by the billowing sails of the ship found on the club crest) were just too large and clumsily implemented, compromising the look of the entire kit.
6. Manchester City 2024-25 fourth kit
Otherwise known as the “Definitely Maybe kit,” City’s fourth alternate jersey from last year was an abstract design based on the cover art of the debut album from Oasis. The shirt is essentially a “colour map” of the photo that appears on the front of the 1994 LP, showing the band lounging around in the front room of then-guitarist Bonehead’s house in Manchester. The result was a weird melange of yellow, turquoise and pink that some loved and some loathed.
5. Manchester City 2025-26 fourth kit
Forest green and covered in digi triangles, City’s ultra hi-tech new fourth kit also features a special NFC chip hidden in the club crest that allows fans to scan it with their phones in order to access a cache of EA Sports FC26 in-game content. The interactive element is obviously a silly gimmick, but the shirt itself is quite smart.
4. Manchester City 2025-26 home kit
There’s not a lot to fall out with when it comes to City’s current home kit and the cloud-like wispy graphic running diagonally across the front of the sky-blue base is a novel way of subtly referencing a staple element of the club’s design language — the famous City sash.
3. Manchester City 2025-26 away kit
City traipsed right back to the Victorian era in search of inspiration for their new away kit, which is based on the very first kit worn by the club in 1884, when they were originally formed as St. Mark’s West Gorton FC — a church team based in the suburb of Manchester where the modern-day Etihad Stadium now stands. The black and silver design is undeniably simplistic, but there’s enough contemporary style to win us over.
2. Manchester City 2025 CWC away kit
A special edition released for the FIFA Club World Cup, City’s cult classic “sash” kit was given a contemporary reworking by New York streetwear label KidSuper. The two-tone sash was last seen on City’s 2009-10 third strip but the graphic of the updated version (inspired by City fans performing their renowned “Poznan” dance) ended up being just the right side of quirky.
1. Manchester City 2024-25 away kit
An instant hit among the fanbase, City’s 2024-25 fluorescent yellow-and-navy striped away kit was directly inspired by the kit they wore on the road during the 1998-99 season, which culminated in a famous Division Two playoff final comeback win against Gillingham. The original is already a cult classic and the modernised version essentially ensured that even more nostalgic City fans could get their hands on a belter from the archives.
