The Best Ever Bayern Munich Shirts
Few clubs' shirts have been worn on as many big European nights as Bayern Munich's. Three European Cups in a row in the 1970s. Penalties at the San Siro in 2001. Robben's late winner at Wembley in 2013. Lisbon in 2020. And, of course, the Camp Nou in 1999, the final Bayern led for 90 minutes and lost in three.
Those nights stay with everyone, whichever side you were on. Annie Eaves told us about hers:
"For emotion, Teddy Sheringham against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. All was lost but I still had a bit of belief and when he scored that, the feeling was amazing. Scrappy goal but I will never forget it." - Annie Eaves
That's what a Bayern final does. Even the other side never forgets it.
The shirts have mostly kept up with the football. Bayern have worn adidas for decades, and as our own Phil Delves puts it, "Bayern so often possess the best adidas kits across all clubs and nations." We've sold 60 authentic Bayern shirts since 2016, to buyers in 16 countries. More than half of them have left the UK, and Lothar Matthäus is on the back of one in five. For this countdown we've drawn on Phil's reviews, Annie's interview and a shirt from Gary Neville's own collection.
What you need to know about the best Bayern Munich shirts
- Every Bayern shirt we've sold is adidas, from the Commodore years to the 120th anniversary away.
- Our three best-selling eras are almost level: 1997/99 (14 sold), the 2002/03 European home (14) and 1995/97 (12).
- Lothar Matthäus is the most popular name on the back (12 sold), ahead of Giovane Elber (6) and Jürgen Klinsmann (3).
- Bayern are one of our most international sellers: buyers in 16 countries, and more than half the shirts leave the UK.
- Every shirt is hand-checked and comes with our no-fakes guarantee - browse the full Bayern collection.
Authentic Bayern Munich shirts
Vintage Bayern shirts go fast. Here's what's in our archive right now, every one hand-checked and guaranteed genuine:
1991/93 Bayern Munich adidas Home Shirt
Genuine adidas — £119.99
Matthäus #10 Bayern adidas Icons Retro Shirt
Official adidas reissue — £79.99
1984/86 Bayern adidas Originals Retro L/S Shirt
Official adidas reissue — £64.99
The Best Ever Bayern Munich Shirts, Ranked
1974-76 Home (adidas) - Three European Cups in a Row
Beckenbauer, Müller, Maier, Breitner, Hoeneß. Bayern won the European Cup in 1974, 1975 and 1976, and the plain red shirt with white trim became the uniform of the best club side in Europe. This is where it all starts. Simple, confident and very hard to find today.
1984/89 Home (adidas) - The Commodore Years
A home computer company on the front of a Bayern shirt. It could only be the 80s. The Commodore shirts belong to a decade of Bundesliga titles and two lost European Cup finals, against Aston Villa in 1982 and Porto in 1987, and they're some of the most collectable Bayern shirts out there. If you'd rather have the look without the vintage price, an official adidas Originals reissue is in stock.
1991/93 Home (adidas) - Red, Blue and Three Stripes
If you only know one vintage Bayern shirt, it's probably this one: big adidas stripes over the shoulder, with blue running through the red. Phil Delves gave it the full FSC Approved treatment:
"Quite simply, the 91-93 design is both one of the most 'adidas' designs you'll find throughout the brand's storied history, and also one of the best shirts from Die Roten's back catalogue." - Phil Delves, Football Shirt Collective
Marseille and Liverpool wore the same template, but Phil has no doubt whose version wins:
"Personally though, I would give the nod to Bayern's interpretation, not least because of the striking blue and red colour combination." - Phil Delves
That blue matters more than you'd think. In 2018 Bayern fans demanded no more blue on home kits, so shirts like this one are rarer than ever. Bayern fans love it too: when the club played Galatasaray in 2023, supporters unfurled a giant banner of the 1992 home shirt with the message "The club colours are untouchable", as Phil wrote about. And when adidas paid tribute to this shirt in its 2021 Humanrace collection, Phil found that "Bayern Munich seemed to be coming out on top as the people's favourite."
A 1991/93 home is in stock now, size XL.
1993/95 Home (adidas Equipment) - Matthäus Comes Home
Lothar Matthäus came back from Inter as a world champion, and the Equipment era gave him a shirt to match. Bayern won the Bundesliga in 1994. We've sold five shirts from this set, including Matthäus #10.
1993/95 Away (adidas Equipment)
The early-90s three-stripe template at its best. When adidas brought this colourway back in its retro collection, Phil Delves said Bayern's version:
"…resurrected one of the great away colour schemes the club has ever had." - Phil Delves, Football Shirt Collective
1995/97 Home (adidas) - Klinsmann and the UEFA Cup
Jürgen Klinsmann arrived from Tottenham in 1995 and scored goal after goal on the way to the 1996 UEFA Cup, beating Bordeaux in the final. It's one of our three best-selling Bayern eras (12 sold), with Klinsmann #18 and Matthäus #10 split evenly on the back. If you're a Spurs fan, this is the other Klinsmann shirt to own.
1997/99 Home (adidas) - Matthäus, Elber and Barcelona
Our best-selling Bayern era: 14 sold, and Matthäus #10 is on eight of them. Ottmar Hitzfeld's side won the Bundesliga in 1999 and went within minutes of the treble. Giovane Elber was the goalscorer, Matthäus was still running the show in his late thirties, and then came the Camp Nou. It's a shirt from one of the most famous nights in football. We don't have one in stock right now, but we're always looking.
1998/99 Champions League Away (adidas) - Elber, From Gary Neville's Collection
Here's how big that season was: one of the shirts from it ended up in a Manchester United legend's own collection. When we looked through Gary Neville's football shirts, there was a Bayern away with Elber #9 on the back:
"Quality Bayern Munich – Champions League shirt from the Brazilian striker. This doesn't come from the final but from the group stage, when Bayern drew 1-1 at Old Trafford." - Mike Maxwell, Football Shirt Collective
Bayern and United met three times in Europe that season. The two group games were both draws, and the third was the one Annie Eaves will never forget.
2000/01 (adidas) - Kahn, Effenberg and the San Siro
Two years after Barcelona, Bayern went back and finished the job. They beat Valencia on penalties at the San Siro, with Oliver Kahn the hero in the shootout and Stefan Effenberg as captain. Effenberg's Champions League shirt from the following season (pictured) carries the sleeve patches Bayern had earned. Read more about those in our history of the Champions League sleeve patch.
2002/03 European Home (adidas) - Red, T-Mobile and UCL Patches
In 2002/03 Bayern wore maroon with Opel in the league, but switched to a red European home with a new sponsor, T-Mobile. Phil Delves loves it:
"The red European home shirt possessed all the classic features of early 00s adidas, with deeper red side panels in a mesh style and classic three stripe detailing that ran all the way along the length of the sleeves." - Phil Delves, Football Shirt Collective
The football didn't quite match:
"…despite its quality the team sadly took the casual idea a bit too far, finishing bottom of a tricky Champions League group that included AC Milan, Deportivo de La Coruña and Lens." - Phil Delves
It's level with 1997/99 as our best-selling Bayern shirt, though to be fair most of those were one batch of brand-new XL shirts with the UCL patches still on. When they're gone, they're gone.
2003/05 Home (adidas) - The Ballack Years
Michael Ballack arrived from Leverkusen and spent four seasons as the heartbeat of Bayern's midfield. There were league and cup doubles, and Roy Makaay scoring for fun. We've sold two from this era.
2012/13 Home (adidas) - The Treble at Wembley
A year after losing the final at their own stadium, Jupp Heynckes' Bayern won everything. Arjen Robben scored the late winner against Dortmund at Wembley to complete the treble. It's the modern Bayern shirt every fan of a certain age wants, and one we'd love to add to the archive.
2019/20 Away (adidas) - 120 Years
Bayern turned 120 in 2020, and adidas marked it with a special away shirt in the same season the club won the Champions League in Lisbon. A modern shirt with a vintage soul.
2020/21 Home (adidas)
The shirt Bayern wore as they finished off the sextuple. Phil Delves gave it 3.5 out of 5:
"It is, on the face of it, a fairly conservative and no-nonsense design, and though there is more to this classic facade than meets the eye, it's far from breaking Bayern's sartorial mould." - Phil Delves, Football Shirt Collective
Red and white, nothing more. Bayern fans wouldn't have it any other way.
Most Popular Bayern Munich Shirts We've Sold
Sample size caveat: this covers 60 recorded shirts since October 2016. That's enough to see which eras sell, but too few to call this a definitive ranking. 13 of the 2002/03 sales were one batch of new-with-tags shirts.
| Shirt / era | Units sold |
|---|---|
| 1997/99 adidas home and away, incl. 1998/99 Champions League shirt (Matthäus #10, Elber #9) | 14 |
| 2002/03 adidas European home, T-Mobile | 14 |
| 1995/97 adidas home and away (Klinsmann #18, Matthäus #10) | 12 |
| 1993/95 adidas Equipment home and away (Matthäus #10) | 5 |
| 2013/14 adidas away | 3 |
| 1991/93 adidas home and away | 2 |
| 2003/05 adidas home | 2 |
| 2009/10 adidas long-sleeve home | 2 |
We've also sold one each of the 1984/89 Commodore home, 1999/01 and 2001/02 Elber shirts, the 2011/12 away, a 2016/17 Lewandowski #9 and the 2019/20 120th anniversary away.
Most Popular Bayern Munich Shirts By Player
| Player | Units sold |
|---|---|
| Lothar Matthäus | 12 |
| Giovane Elber | 6 |
| Jürgen Klinsmann | 3 |
| Robert Lewandowski | 1 |
Matthäus outsells Elber two to one. Most of our Bayern shirts, 38 of the 60, had no name on the back at all. For Matthäus and Klinsmann in white, see our Best Germany Shirts, and for the other side of Der Klassiker, our Best Ever Borussia Dortmund Shirts.
Who Orders The Most Bayern Munich Shirts?
| Country | Units sold |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 25 |
| United States | 6 |
| Australia, Ireland | 4 each |
| Germany | 3 |
| France | 2 |
| Canada, Colombia, Hong Kong, Hungary, Isle of Man, Japan, Mexico, Tunisia, UAE | 1 each |
| Not recorded | 7 |
More than half of the Bayern shirts with a recorded country left the UK, which puts Bayern second only to Italy in our countdowns so far. Only three went to Germany.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Bayern Munich shirt of all time?
Our pick is the 1991/93 adidas home, with its red and blue three stripes. Phil Delves calls it one of the best shirts in Bayern's back catalogue. Going by our own sales, the 1997/99 Matthäus and Elber era sells the most.
Why don't Bayern Munich home shirts have blue on them any more?
In 2018 Bayern fans campaigned for the club to stick to its official colours of red and white on home kits. That makes older shirts with blue, like the 1991/93 home, even more special.
Who makes Bayern Munich shirts?
adidas. Every Bayern shirt we've sold, from the 1980s Commodore shirts to the 120th anniversary away, has been made by adidas.
What's the difference between a replica and a player issue Bayern shirt?
Player issue shirts use lighter, more technical fabric and a slimmer cut. We compared the two using a Bayern shirt in our replica vs player issue guide.
Are Football Shirt Collective's vintage Bayern Munich shirts authentic?
Yes. Every shirt is hand-checked before it's listed and photographed in detail, and comes with our no-fakes guarantee. We're rated Excellent on Trustpilot. Modern retro reissues are clearly labelled as reissues.
Why Buy Your Bayern Munich Shirt From Football Shirt Collective
Bayern's 90s adidas shirts are among the most copied vintage shirts out there. Every shirt we sell is hand-checked before it's listed and comes with plenty of photos, so you know exactly what you're getting. Every one carries our no-fakes guarantee, and we're rated Excellent on Trustpilot. Where we can, we stock shirts with official name sets rather than aftermarket printing. Want to check one yourself? Read our guide to spotting a fake adidas shirt, or send it to our Fake Shirt Checker.
