Another season brings more style to the pitch across the world.
1/18
GQ Australia may receive advertising or affiliate commission if you buy via our links. Read more here.
Football jerseys have become entrenched in modern style. Plucked from the manicured grass of pitches all over the world, football jerseys are a contemporary staple, seen everywhere from street style galleries to the runway.
There have been plenty of fashionable takes on the humble jersey. Designer Martine Rose and her namesake label have become synonymous with jerseys, and riffs on them. Fashion designers have also been tasked with designing the jerseys for the teams themselves, with Yohji Yamamoto and Real Madrid bringing back their partnership last year for a diabolically good purple strip.
As hype around the fashion-forward jerseys grows, it’s almost easy to forget that every season, real clubs release jerseys to wear. And while they might not yet be worthy of joining the “classics”, which are the vintage jerseys that have stood the test of time, and help drive hype today. We’re talking the Napoli 1990/91 Home Shirt, with the famous ‘Mars’ sponsor worn by the legend Diego Maradona (arguably the greatest kit of all time). Manchester United kits during the David Beckham-era. Or Japan’s home jersey for the 1997/98 period with the flame decorations on the arm, a huge swathe of English Premier League teams had kits in the ’90s that have become iconic. The list goes on.
But with the ’25/’26 season close at hand, we thought we’d try our hand at ranking some of the jerseys released so far—on how easy they are to wear if you’re not a fan, and whether or not they have what it takes to enter the top echelon of “classics” like the jerseys that came before them.
Puma has really impressed us this season with the range of kits it has designed, as well as Adidas, both have nailed many of the teams’ jerseys the brands have been tasked with designing across world football. Nike always has a few powerhouse designs that have made the list too. While AC Milan took out the top spot last year, the club has unfortunately tumbled out of the list this year.
Below, the 15 coolest football jerseys for the ’25/’26 season—plus a few honourable mentions—ranked.
2/18
Honourable mention: Preston North End (home)
Manufacturer: Castore
To be totally honest, it was the sponsor that almost got us here. Minimal white base, subtly patterned, and then a big ‘ole ‘Spud Bros’ on the front. Turns out it’s a loaded baked potatoes business started by two brothers from the area. Deeply unserious, but almost worth a look.
3/18
Honourable mention: FC Nürnberg (third)
Manufacturer: Adidas
Whenever a club is celebrating a milestone, good things often follow in the jersey department. For FC Nürnberg’s 125-year anniversary, Adidas went all out with one of the best kits of the year. Leaning heavily on vintage details, the burgundy and white stripes, with minimal branding and gold detailing is damn near perfection. It seems to be just a celebratory kit, based on a design the club wore back in the day. Here’s hoping to see it at least once on the pitch—and it might break through the rankings.
4/18
15. Inter Miami (third)
Manufacturer: Adidas
When your colours are light blue and pink, you really have to be doing something bad to not get it right. The third kit from David Beckham’s Miami team is a delight, simple yet effective. Lionel Messi will be wanting to rock this one with his pink Rolex Daytona.
5/18
14. Chelsea (away)
Manufacturer: Nike
It’s quite a departure for the Blues, but the London club’s new away strip has plenty of story behind it. Back in the ’70s, Chelsea won its first FA Cup and European trophy, in honour of the footballers that inspired coach Dave Sexton—Hungary’s famous ‘Magnificent Magyars’ side—he designed a red, white, and green kit for Chelsea to wear based on the Hungarian flag. Fast forward nearly 60 years, and the club are going back to that famous tri-colour for the ’25/’26 campaign.
6/18
13. Toulouse FC (home)
Manufacturer: Nike
Purple and white, a colour combination that just exudes royalty and class. The striking half-half design could be Nike’s best work of the year, kit-wise. Here’s hoping the sponsor-less jerseys make an appearance as well.
7/18
12. Heerenveen (home)
Manufacturer: Macron
To the uncultured eye, the little hearts running down the blue and white strip make for a cutesy addition, but they’re actually Seeblatts. Which is the term for the stylised depiction of a water lily, used in the heraldry of Friesland in the Netherlands. But even as an outsider, we have to admit it just looks really nice.
8/18
11. FC St. Pauli (home)
Manufacturer: Puma
Made using recycled materials, the home strip for Germany’s FC St. Pauli is going to be one of those ‘buy now, reveal in decades for a profit’ sort of kit. Classically Pauli, and modelled so well by one of Australia’s most stylish athletes in Jackson Irvine, if you’re looking for a fashion-forward kit, this one makes use of the trending brown shade to full effect.
9/18
10. Arsenal (third)
Manufacturer: Adidas
The culture club! More kits than trophies in the past few seasons, but at least they’ve given fans something to be happy about. A perennial member of any best soccer kits list, this year it’s the white and red third strip with gold details that earns Arsenal a spot. Inspired by the Art Deco halls of Highbury, it’s yet another winning combination. Will we see these kits in a league final this season?
10/18
9. Real Madrid (away)
Manufacturer: Adidas
From La Liga to the Champions League, there have been no shortage of iconic nights at the Santiago Bernabéu over the years, which was the inspiration behind Real Madrid’s away kit this year. The deep navy reflects those deeply-coloured skies, while the silver and green recall the bright lights and the glow of the pitch. A svelte blend of classic and contemporary.
11/18
8. Palmeiras (third)
Manufacturer: Puma
First debuted at the recent Club World Cup, this jersey design takes inspiration from the Brazilian club’s 1951 triumph in the Copa Rio, and the pared-back take exceeds in its details. Printed on the off-white front is a gorgeous Baroque detail that looks great up close. The kit was designed by KidSuper, along with a handful of others for the ’25/’26 season, but this is by far the best (we can forget about the Borussia Dortmund one). The red star is a perfect touch.
12/18
7. AS Roma (third)
Manufacturer: Adidas
AS Roma were high on our last ranking, and the team is continuing its strong form in the jersey department this year. Last year’s use of the vintage club badges has sort of carried over, with this third kit featuring the traditional ‘ASR’ trigram. Design inspiration for the jersey itself comes from the gardens around Rome, with pops of green and gold.
13/18
6. Tottenham (away)
Manufacturer: Nike
You know, it’s such a shame Tottenham got rid of our beloved Ange, it would have been a treat to see him model this dramatic kit design. It’s also a shame they let Son Heung-min, the bloke they got to model it! They’re going to be seriously menacing on the pitch, and will mark the club’s return to playing European nights in the Champions league. Very, very good.
14/18
5. Swansea (home)
Manufacturer: Joma
Both the home and away kits are phenomenal for Swansea, but the home kit pips it for its classy use of the checkerboard print. Just around the collars and ends of the sleeves, the kit is otherwise left nearly bare save for the monochrome club crest. This will work a dream styled on and off the pitch.
15/18
4. Atalanta (home)
Manufacturer: New Balance
Mark our words, this will be a future collectors item. New Balance’s first go with the Italian club, and it’s a banger. The large ‘Lete’ sponsor in the centre is the right way to do a big logo, and the otherwise simple kit reminds us of that vintage era of Italian uniforms.
16/18
3. Liverpool (home)
Manufacturer: Adidas
Following up from last season’s pinstripes was not going to be easy, but by leaning into the simplicity of red and white, we’re happy to admit Liverpool have done it again, and on the first go with Adidas ahead of their ten-year partnership. This kit reminds us of the legendary Liverpool kits, like from the ’80s, which were also Adidas’ work, and had the great ‘Candy’ sponsor on the front—and the ‘Carlsberg’ version some years later. Heritage.
17/18
2. Parma (third)
Manufacturer: Puma
Puma is crushing it this year with its kits, and all three of the designs for Parma could make a coolest kits list, but it’s the third strip that takes the chocolates. Inspired by the home shirt from the ’95/’96 campaign—the club’s first year with Puma—this kit gives it a eye catching modern twist.
18/18
1. Venezia (away)
Manufacturer: Nocta
Holding it down for another year as Italy’s classiest club, and this time also the smartest in the world, Venezia FC has delivered another stellar kit, with the help of Drake’s label Nocta. The away strip—once more—uses a lot of burgundy and white, and the unapologetically Italian sponsor ‘Cynar Spritz’ delivers another level of legend to the kit.
