Puma has now gone two seasons without making Manchester City a plain sky blue shirt — and both times, the departure was a first for the club.
The 25/26 put the sash on a home kit for the first time in City’s history, taking a diagonal stripe that had lived exclusively on away shirts since the 1970s and moving it to the front of the wardrobe. The 26/27 goes further and dissolves the colour itself, running a gradient from deep sky blue at the shoulders down to white at the hem.
Two seasons, two things City had never done to a home shirt before.
The 26/27 Home Kit
Released 20 May 2026, and it breaks the club’s single-tone convention entirely.
The shirt runs a full gradient of sky blue — darker across the shoulders, lightening as it falls, finishing white at the bottom hem. Puma’s stated idea is a visual timeline: a tribute to the various shades of sky blue City have worn across their history, compressed into one shirt.
It’s finished with a metallic monochrome crest and matching sponsor detailing, plus a white collar and white sleeve cuffs. The back collar carries “CITY”, and printed inside the collar is “Not Your Typical City” — the campaign line running across the whole 26/27 range. Light blue shorts and socks.
The launch film leaned into the campaign’s playful framing, with Pep Guardiola, Erling Haaland and Alex Greenwood fielding calls about unusual happenings around Manchester.
Tech: the Authentic jersey uses Puma’s ULTRAWEAVE fabric — ultra-lightweight and precision-woven — with dryCELL sweat management and ThermoAdapt heat regulation, made from at least 50% recycled material. The Replica carries the same graphics in a casual silhouette using Puma’s RE construction.
The 25/26 Home Kit
Available 13 May 2025, and the headline was genuinely historic.
For the first time in the club’s history, the home kit featured the sash — the diagonal stripe introduced in the 1970s and worn by club greats including Mike Summerbee, Colin Bell, Francis Lee and Tony Book. It had always lived on away kits. This was its home debut.
A sky blue base with a white sash, reimagined rather than reproduced — previous City sashes were solid, this one wasn’t. Black handled the branding and detailing for contrast, with a CITY wordmark at the nape.
The launch film was shot at the Clayton Official Supporters Club, around the corner from the Etihad, which fit a design drawn from the club’s own history rather than an abstract concept.
How the Two Compare
| 26/27 | 25/26 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Released |
20 May 2026 |
13 May 2025 |
|
The first |
First gradient home shirt |
First sash on a home shirt |
|
Colour |
Sky blue fading to white |
Solid sky blue |
|
Design element |
Tonal gradient, shoulder to hem |
White diagonal sash |
|
Reference |
Every shade of sky blue in club history |
The 1970s sash era |
|
Branding colour |
Metallic monochrome |
Black |
|
Collar |
White |
Sky blue |
The fastest way to tell them apart is the branding. Black logos mean 25/26. Metallic monochrome means 26/27. If you’re further away, the sash is unmistakable — the 26/27 has no diagonal element at all.
There’s a neat contrast in what each references. The 25/26 points at one specific era, the 1970s side of Summerbee, Bell, Lee and Book. The 26/27 points at the club’s entire history at once, using the gradient as a compressed timeline of every sky blue City have worn.
Constants: Puma as supplier and Etihad Airways on the front across both seasons.
Which Season Should You Buy?
The 26/27 if you want what the squad wears this season. The gradient is the most distinctive thing Puma has done with a City home shirt, and the metallic monochrome crest is a nicer detail in person than it looks in product photography. It’s also the more unusual of the two as a garment — very few football shirts fade.
The 25/26 if you want the historic one. The first sash on a City home shirt in the club’s entire history is a genuine milestone, and it ties to a specific, well-loved era rather than a general concept. It’s also the cleaner shirt of the two if a gradient isn’t for you — a solid sky blue with one diagonal stripe is easier to wear casually.
If you’re buying for a specific player, check the squad against the season. The 26/27 shirt carries Erling Haaland among others, with Pep Guardiola still in charge.
On authentic versus replica: for match-going or everyday wear the Replica is the sensible pick — same graphics, more forgiving cut, and near-identical at any normal distance. Go Authentic if you’re actually playing in it or want the exact squad spec; the ULTRAWEAVE build is cut slim enough that most buyers size up.
Both seasons are on Novelship, every shirt authenticated in-house before it ships. The 25/26 is the harder of the two to find in popular sizes now that it’s a season old, so it’s worth checking availability before you settle on one.
FAQ's
The various shades of sky blue Manchester City have worn throughout their history, compressed into a single shirt that runs darker at the shoulders and lightens to white at the hem. It’s the first gradient home shirt in the club’s history.
A diagonal stripe design first used on City kits in the 1970s and worn by club greats including Mike Summerbee, Colin Bell, Francis Lee and Tony Book. It has historically appeared on away kits — the 25/26 season was the first time in club history it featured on a home shirt.
The branding colour and the sash. Black logos with a white diagonal sash means 25/26. Metallic monochrome logos on a fading sky-blue-to-white body means 26/27.
No. Puma has supplied City’s kits and Etihad Airways has been the front-of-shirt sponsor across both seasons.
Novelship has a team of experts who carefully inspect and authenticate each item before it is shipped out to the buyer. Novelship used a combination of industry knowledge, detailed checks, and advanced technology to verify the authenticity of products. Check out the authentication process.
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