The start of a new football season sparks the return of dodgy VAR calls, 90+5 minute stunners, FPL turmoil, Olympic-standard dives and, of course, brand new kits. Summer is when the football fashionistas shine, dissecting the best new shirts dreamed up by Nike, Adidas, Puma and the like.
Lovers of gorgeous football kits ourselves, at Mystery Football we can get you ready for the new season with our extra special 2026/27 mystery shirt box. Guarantee yourself an authentic shirt from any club, any league, in any country, from Buenos Aires to the Bundesliga. Treat yourself, or gift someone else something extraordinary!
So, what are the best new kits of 26/27? We have raided every league on the planet, argued about it far too loudly in the office, and ranked our ten favourites, each rated out of 10. These are our opinions, they are correct, and we will not be taking questions. Let us kick off.
10. Benfica Third Kit (7.5/10)
We open with a proper bit of chaos, in the very best way. Benfica have handed Adidas the creative keys for their third kit and the result is gorgeous: a black base splashed with multicoloured pink and red graphics, overlaid with a hexagonal motif that echoes the panels of a classic old-school leather football. The famous eagle crest stays in its true colours, keeping one foot in tradition while the rest of the shirt goes off exploring.
It is daring, it is modern, and it is exactly the kind of shirt that flies off shelves precisely because it looks like nobody else's. Third kits are where designers get to have fun, and Benfica have absolutely nailed the brief.
9. Liverpool Home Kit (8/10)
Adidas's return to Anfield produced a belter. This home shirt is a loving tribute to the famous 1989-91 kit, yes, the Candy-era one, worn during a golden spell that included the 1989/90 league title. The base leans into a rich, deep near-maroon red, dusted with a subtle all-over geometric pattern that nods to the original, while crisp white detailing frames the round-neck collar, cuffs and shoulder stripes. There is even a smart new typeface waiting on the back.
It does not clone the classic, it reinterprets it, and that is precisely why it works. Heritage, colour and craft all pulling in the same direction. One of the standout Premier League shirts of the season, and it will sell by the container-load.
8. Tottenham Hotspur Away Kit (8/10)
Time for the loudest shirt on the list, and we adore it. Nike have given Spurs an "Obsidian" away kit: a deep, inky navy base with matching shorts, then covered the torso in an all-over graphic of jagged, diagonal lines lit up in pink, purple and orange. It is bold, it is fashion-forward, and it looks less like a football shirt and more like something you would wear to a warehouse rave in 1994.
Away kits are supposed to be the playground, and Spurs have built a full theme park. Wear it with jeans, wear it with anything, this one is leaving the pitch and heading straight into wardrobes. A future cult classic in the making.
7. Valencia Third Kit (8/10)
This shirt is, in the official terminology, fire. Puma have thrown the rulebook out of the Mestalla and gone for a colour combination Valencia have never worn quite like this: two shades of soft pink woven into an elongated tonal stripe pattern, then sliced through with deep "Torino Red" on the underarm panels, collar insert and cuffs. Even the crest and Puma cat get the monochrome Torino Red treatment.
There is real substance under the swagger, too. Torino Red is an iconic old alternate colour, first worn at Mestalla's very first match back in 1923, and the bat from the club crest hides on the back of the neck. Blokecore, lifestyle, fearless, call it what you like, we call it one of the Spanish football shirts of the summer.
6. Paris Saint-Germain Home Kit (8.5/10)
Being crowned champions of Europe was not enough for PSG, they have gone and released one of their best home shirts in years too. Nike have leaned hard into the beloved 1990s era, ditching the recent royal blue for a punchier, more vibrant shade and fattening up that iconic central red stripe like the shirts of old. Crest, swoosh and sponsor all sit centred, drawing your eye straight down the middle for a properly sleek finish.
It is romantic, it is retro, and it wears its heritage with real pride. Minimalists might raise an eyebrow, but for the rest of us this is Parisian nostalgia done gloriously right. When it comes to French football shirts, nobody does it with quite as much va-va-voom as PSG.
5. Arsenal Away Kit (8.5/10)
Reverse the bruised banana and you get, well, this beauty. Adidas have taken Arsenal's cult 1991-93 away shirt, the one whose zig-zag "bruised banana" pattern split opinion then and is worshipped now, and flipped the whole palette. Instead of yellow, the base is a deep "Collegiate Navy", with the same geometric chevrons running across it and yellow doing the talking on the retro Trefoil, the shoulder stripes, the cannon crest and the sponsor logos. Red trim on the collar and cuffs ties it neatly back to the Gunners' traditional colours.
It is a clever inversion that feels fresh and familiar all at once, arguably the pick of every reverse or throwback effort this summer. Genuinely one of the best blue away shirts Arsenal have ever produced.
4. River Plate Home Kit (8.5/10)
Time to go global, and this is pure, effortless class. To mark their 125th anniversary, River Plate and Adidas have produced a shirt that oozes elegance. It takes Los Millonarios' legendary red sash and gives it a modern makeover, flanking it with sharp black borders and threading a subtle graphic through it, all set against a clean white base. Add a fold-over polo collar, a neat button placket and a beautifully embroidered crest, and you have got footballing tailoring from top to bottom.
This is exactly the kind of shirt that makes us fall in love with the global game all over again, a genuine icon from Buenos Aires that most lists completely overlook. Not us. It is one of the finest international football shirts of the year: timeless, celebratory and worth every peso.
3. Borussia Dortmund Home Kit (9/10)
Now we are into the top three, and Dortmund have delivered a masterclass in doing a lot with a little. Puma have kept the sacred "Faster Yellow" base and stripped the black right back, but hidden across the shirt is a stunning tonal, embossed pattern drawn from two of the city's landmarks: the Minister Stein colliery (marking 40 years since its closure) and the Dortmunder U (celebrating its centenary). Black trim edges the collar, cuffs and side panels, with crisp white stripes framing the ribbed cuffs and crew neck.
It is a love letter to Dortmund's steel-and-coal, working-class soul, stitched into a shirt that looks clean from a distance and rewards a proper close-up. As German football shirts go, this is understated brilliance from BVB and Puma.
2. RC Lens Away Kit (9/10)
If you want heritage worn on the sleeve, and everywhere else, say hello to the dark horse of the season. Lens's first away kit under their new Adidas deal is a moody, magnificent thing: a black shirt carrying an anthracite mining pattern that pays direct homage to the coal-mining soul of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, right down to a nod to Saint Barbara, the miners' patron saint. The Three Stripes and detailing come in green, the logos in white, and there is even a special mining icon tucked inside the collar, all finished with the nostalgic Adidas Trefoil.
Unveiled at the region's iconic twin slag heaps in Loos-en-Gohelle, this is storytelling as kit design, and almost nobody outside France is talking about it. Their loss. One of the French football shirts of the year, and a stone-cold beauty.
1. Inter Milan Away Kit (9.5/10)
We have celebrated nine crackers, but only one shirt made the whole office stop scrolling. Inter and Nike have knocked it clean out of the park with an away kit built around a genius idea: classic American baseball. The base is crisp white, wrapped top to bottom in sharp vertical pinstripes in two shades of blue, with navy detailing on the pointed contrast collar, the cuffs and the side panels. Best of all, for the first time in the club's 100-plus-year history, the crest is reimagined as a bold "IM" monogram sitting proud on the chest, with the two stars above it and a navy swoosh opposite.
It is clean, it is confident, it is dripping with thoughtful detail, and it works just as well on the terraces as it does with a pair of jeans. Simplicity plus a brilliant concept equals the best kit of 26/27, and comfortably the pick of the Italian football shirts this season. Home run. Someone at Nike deserves a raise and a very cold Peroni.
The 2026/27 Kit Rankings at a Glance
| Rank | Club | Kit | Maker | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inter Milan | Away | Nike | 9.5/10 |
| 2 | RC Lens | Away | Adidas | 9/10 |
| 3 | Borussia Dortmund | Home | Puma | 9/10 |
| 4 | River Plate | Home | Adidas | 8.5/10 |
| 5 | Arsenal | Away | Adidas | 8.5/10 |
| 6 | Paris Saint-Germain | Home | Nike | 8.5/10 |
| 7 | Valencia | Third | Puma | 8/10 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | Away | Nike | 8/10 |
| 9 | Liverpool | Home | Adidas | 8/10 |
| 10 | Benfica | Third | Adidas | 7.5/10 |
Like What You See? Choose Mystery Football!
Scrolled this far and started eyeing up a new shirt for the season? We do not blame you. But do not just admire them from afar, treat yourself to a mystery football shirt of your very own. Whether you go for one of our special 2026/27 boxes or our classic mystery shirt box, where you could unwrap a shirt from any team, any league, any country on the planet (Inter and River Plate very much included), the surprise is half the fun.
Shop with Mystery Football for worldwide shipping, top-class support and 100% authentic shirts, every single time. Ready to kick off?
