Manchester United’s ‘third kit’ for next season has been leaked with an eye-catching design that offers a throwback to a more successful period at Old Trafford.
Adidas are responsible for designing United’s kit after a ten-year extension on the pre-existing deal between the two partners was ratified in June 2023, worth £900 million across the period.
There is a £10 million penalty included in the deal, however, if United miss out on Champions League football – which the club are set to repeat next season after the Europa League final loss against Tottenham Hotspur.
The home and away kits for the upcoming campaign were both leaked in April with fans reacting with bemusement at the latter on social media.
Both the club and Adidas will hoping the ‘third kit’ – expected to be released in August – will prove more popular as it incorporates a style reminiscent of the 1993-95 away kit, most famously associated with ‘The King’ – Eric Cantona.
⚫🟡🔵 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Manchester United 25-26 Third Kit Leaked (Huge thanks to @Kitkingdom83): https://t.co/2TLD4oVVTj
— Footy Headlines (@Footy_Headlines) June 3, 2025
Footy Headlines reveals the new kit “recalls the club’s famous 1993-1995 away kit. It is black with yellow and blue accents, like the original kit from 30 years ago.”
It will include a “black base with alternating matte and glossy vertical stripes” with the dark stripes including a “subtle all-over pattern that includes embossed Red Devil logos – a modern nod to club heritage that enhances the retro-inspired aesthetic.”
“Adidas uses the classic Trefoil logo and a modernized version of the shielded badge of the classic shirt. Both the collar and the sleeve cuffs have a tricolor in yellow, black, and blue.
“Black, yellow, and blue shorts & socks round off the Manchester United 2025-2026 3rd kit,” the report concludes.
The “Cantona” kit was well-received by the fanbase on social media with one supporter labelling it as “class” and another described the shirt as “so, so good”.
A different reviewer stated, “monochrome badge brings it down to a 9/10 rather than a 10/10”, as relayed by the Manchester Evening News.
There were conflicting opinions, however, with someone asking, “Third shirt for what? We ain’t in Europe” while another fan opined that the club is “slowly losing its identity”, though an alternative kit exists as much for potential colour clashes as it does European football.
Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
