The best Manchester City shirts ever made

Manchester City is a club whose shirt history is as dramatic, turbulent and brilliant as the club itself. From the sky blue of the early-70s golden era to the Aguerooooo shirt; from the maroon away kits of the nadir years to the Treble-winning Puma of 2023. Every shirt tells a story.

We've sold over 128 Manchester City shirts at Football Shirt Collective - from vintage Umbro classics to rare Kappa away kits - so we know a thing or two about what City fans are after. We also wanted to go beyond the data, so we asked two of the most thoughtful football writers around - Jack Pitt-Brooke and David Conn - to choose the shirts that mean the most to them.  

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Here are the best Manchester City shirts ever made.

1970s Manchester City Home Shirt (Sky Blue, Umbro)

"My favourite football shirt is City's sky blue home kit of the early-mid 1970s, with its badge of a ship and red rose. There was no sponsor, and fans of my generation have never really got on with the strange eagle City introduced for the badge more recently. I feel emotional looking at that kit worn by a player like Colin Bell or Willie Donachie, and even writing about it now. It evokes for me the innocent love I had for my club, before as an adult and journalist I understood the commercially exploitative thrust of modern football. The shirt, the beautiful colour, and the badge, are woven into memories of my childhood in Manchester, which was very happy, and my love of Manchester itself, as a place to be from." - David Conn

1990-92 Manchester City Away Shirt (Umbro)

"The first Manchester City shirt I remember wearing was the 1990-92 maroon away kit. An absolute classic." - MCFC shirts

Bold barely covers it. The 1990-92 away is one of those shirts that looks like it shouldn't work and absolutely does.  It shares its Umbro template with England's Italia '90 shirts, which gives it a lineage any kit would be glad to claim. The shirt was also sold in notable numbers at FSC, confirming it's not just nostalgia talking: this one genuinely holds its value with collectors.

1995-96 Manchester City Goalkeeper Shirt (Yellow & Black, Umbro)

"My first football shirt was Manchester City's goalkeeper shirt in 1995-96, the yellow and black Umbro one they gave to all their clubs. Worn that season I think mainly by Tony Coton. I remember its elbow pads, and throwing myself around the garden in it." - Jack Pitt-Brooke

1995-97 Manchester City Home Shirt (Sky Blue, Umbro)

"Probably not an obvious choice but my favourite is the 1995-97 home shirt. I was a big Kinkladze fan (still am) and during that awful season under Alan Ball, he was the one shining light. His goal against Southampton and performance v Newcastle at Maine Road were just unbelievable, and when I see that shirt I think of those memories." - MCFC shirts

Not the most glamorous period in City's history - Alan Ball's reign saw them relegated from the Premier League - but this shirt belongs to Georgi Kinkladze. The Georgian playmaker was one of the most gifted footballers of his generation, and watching him thread through defences at Maine Road while the rest of the side fell apart around him was one of football's great bittersweet pleasures. Our data backs this up: Kinkladze name shirts appear in our FSC sales - and that tells you everything about how deep the affection runs.

1996-97 Manchester City Away Shirts (White & Maroon, Kappa)

"My favourite shirt was either of the white and maroon away shirts City wore in 1996-97 or 1997-98. For City fans these have come to mean something more in recent years, not just for their unusual look but also for representing the nadir of the club. You see them every now and then at games and they always get a second look." - Jack Pitt-Brooke

There are shirts you wear with pride and there are shirts you wear to prove a point. The Kappa white-and-maroon aways of this era are firmly the latter. City were sliding towards Division Two. The football was grim. But the shirt? Kappa's arm-trim detail, an unusual colour combination, an aesthetic that somehow managed to be charismatic in the middle of a crisis. 

1998-99 Manchester City Away Shirt (Black & Yellow, Kappa)

You can't talk about this shirt without talking about that afternoon at Wembley. Two goals down to Gillingham with three minutes of normal time left. Kevin Horlock pulls one back. Paul Dickov equalises. Penalties. City win. It is one of the most dramatic moments in the club's history, and it happened wearing a navy and neon yellow Kappa away that looks like it was designed by someone who'd had an extremely good time. The shirt is inseparable from the moment. A collectors' classic - and one that shows up in our FSC sales data for good reason.

2011-12 Manchester City Home Shirt (Sky Blue, Umbro)

One word: Agueroooooooo. Sergio Agüero's 94th-minute winner against QPR, one of the most extraordinary moments in Premier League history, happened in this shirt. Sky blue with white trim. Clean. Simple. Perfect. It was also worn for the 6-1 demolition of Manchester United at Old Trafford. If you were building a museum of the Premier League's most electric moments, this shirt would have its own room.

2022-23 Manchester City Home Shirt (Sky Blue, Puma)

The Treble shirt. League, FA Cup, Champions League - worn in all three. Puma paid homage to the club's late-1960s golden era with a centre badge design, maroon cuffs and collar, and the kind of quiet confidence that only comes with knowing the players inside it are the best in the world. It is arguably the most significant shirt in Manchester City's history. In twenty years' time, collectors will be hunting for this.

What We've Sold: The Most Popular Manchester City Shirts at FSC

The Player Shirts: Who Are City Fans Actually Buying?

Nicolas Anelka leads the FSC chart - a reminder of how highly that 2002-03 City side is regarded by collectors. Balotelli second is zero surprise; there's no one in recent Premier League history who generated more stories per game. And Haaland - already a collector's item - confirms that even the modern era has shirts people want to own for life.

Where are Manchester City fans buying from?

Our Manchester City orders have come from across the world - which makes sense for a club with genuinely global reach.

Why buy your Manchester City shirt from Football Shirt Collective?

Here's the thing about vintage and authentic football shirts: the market is full of fakes. Replica kits passed off as originals. Incorrect name sets. Wrong badges for the year. It happens constantly on eBay and through general resellers, and if you don't know what to look for, it's easy to be caught out.

At Football Shirt Collective, every shirt we sell is guaranteed authentic. We've been doing this long enough to know the difference between a genuine 1990-92 Umbro away and a reproduction - and we never list the latter. Every shirt comes with 10+ photos so you can see exactly what you're getting before you buy.

We have a 4.7 Trustpilot score and over 500 five-star reviews because we take authenticity and transparency seriously. Our shirts are priced fairly - you'll find us cheaper than the biggest players in this space - and we ship worldwide.

If you want a Manchester City shirt you can be certain about, you're in the right place.

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