What’s the story?
A leaked image of Manchester United’s jersey for the upcoming season has been doing the rounds on social media. The image which contains only the shirt of Manchester United’s kit has been posted by Footy Headlines and shows a red shirt with sleeves that have Black and White borders.
Adidas, who sponsor the Red Devils since the start of the 2015/16 season, have left their mark on the kit with their famous three stripes, which are visible on the shoulders, however, they don’t run all the way to the sleeves. The shirt in the image also has a collar, a feature missing from their attire this season.
In case you didn’t know...
An earlier image of Manchester United’s third kit for the upcoming season was leaked online earlier in the year. The third kit featured a shirt, light and dark grey in colour and had the silhouette of the Holy Trinity imprinted on it.
Also Read: Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus third kits leaked
The heart of the matter
Manchester United’s new merchandising partner Adidas will go all out to milk the Old Trafford outfit’s huge fanbase. The Old Trafford outfit are widely believed to be the most popular football club on the planet with a fanbase in the tune of hundred of millions.
The Red Devils were sponsored by Nike up until the 2014/15 season after which their arch-rivals Adidas took over, having signed a world record deal worth £750m with the Manchester outfit for a period of 10 years.
What's next?
The authenticity of the leaked kits (both the new one and the third kit that was leaked earlier) is yet to be determined but there have been many instances like this in the past when kits of different football clubs have been leaked and they turned out to be the actual design that the club later unveiled in the summer.
Author’s Take
While the silhouette of the Holy Trinity showed a glimpse of the club’s fabled past and had a hint of nostalgia, the leaked home stripes look good but Adidas could have done a better job to make it more unique or appealing to the masses.
The response of the Manchester United fans to this particular kit will be interesting to note. Will there be an outrage, or will they be happy with the kit?
