Barcelona Jersey History & Timeline
Thu, Aug 05.21
Barcelona are responsible for some of the most iconic jerseys in football thanks to their work with Kappa, Meyba and Nike. Take a look back at the best and worst Jerseys from the club in our complete Barcelona Jersey History & Timeline.
1990/91
Barcelona kicked off the 90s with Meyba Jerseys, Meyba had been the clubs kit manufacturer all through the 80s and continued into the early 90s. The Home jersey was a red and blue striped design with a blue collar and Meyba detailing down the shoulders. The Away Jersey was a lighter blue with two singular red and blue stripes on the right hand side, the jersey had the same collar and shoulder details as the home jersey.
The club enjoyed a successful 90/91 campaign under Johan Cruyff, winning La Liga by 10 points over Atletico Madrid. The Barcelona side of the 90s consisted of players like Pep Guardiola, Michael Laudrup and Ronald Koeman. Bulgarian Hristo Stoichkov finished top scorer with 22 goals in all competitions nicknamed ‘El Pistolero’ (The Gunslinger) by the Spanish public.
1991/92
For the 91/92 season Barcelona kept the same home jersey but Meyba provided them with a beautiful orange away shirt with the brand's logo printed subtly into the jersey. The Away kit came with a blue collar and blue sleeve detailing, there is also a nod to the home shirt with the blue and red detailing running down the chest.
On the pitch the Spanish giants enjoyed even more success, not only winning the league again but taking home the European Cup for the first time in their history. Barcelona beat Sampdoria in the final at Wembley 1-0, thanks to a Ronald Koeman goal in extra time.
1992/93 - 1994/95
Barcelona switched jersey manufacturers for the 1992/93 season, switching one iconic brand for another with Kappa coming on board. Kappa produced some of the club's best kits in their first attempt with the brand, using them for 3 seasons in a row. The Home Jersey had thick red and blue stripes with ‘barca’ and the Kappa logo printed throughout, similar to what Meyba did with 91/92 away. The Home Jersey also had the Iconic sleeve tape, which had the kappa branding running down it.
The Away Jersey was a teal colour which had similar detailing to the Home Shirt, with the ‘Barca’ wording and kappa logo printed throughout as well. Kappa used the previous Meyba kits as strong inspiration with the Away also using red and blue stripes across the chest, a reference to the club's home colours.
Barcelona continued to dominate domestically, winning the title in 92/93 and 93/94, making it four La Liga titles in a row, a feat which has not been achieved since. This Barcelona side is considered one of football's greatest, nicknamed ‘the dream team’ with the likes of Hristo Stoichkov, Romário, Michael Laudrup and Ronald Koeman all considered among the best players in the world.
1995/96 - 1996/97
By the 95/96 season it was time to freshen up the kits with Kappa producing a new Home & Away Jersey which were used for the next two seasons. The new home jersey had slightly thinner stripes but kept all the ‘Barca’ and Kappa detailing of the previous kits. The Collar and sleeve taping also received a retouching, with the taping now consisting of red, black, blue and white.
The Away Jersey was the same teal base colour again and received similar updates to the home kit. The same shoulder taping was used on the Away and the collar was updated to match the home too. The red and blue references were still to be seen on the away, with strokes of the home colours placed across the chest of the shirt.
1995/96 was Johan Cruyff's last season in charge at Barcelona, after 8 years at the club. The side finished 3rd in the league and lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid in the Copa Del Rey final. The next season Barca performed better in the league, just losing out to Real Madrid by 2 points with Ronaldo smashing in 34 goals for the season.
1997/98
After 2 years Kappa introduced new Home & Away shirts again, this time changing both shirts up a fair bit. The Home Shirt was a variation on the striped with two blue stripes in the middle of the shirt surrounded by 2 red stripes on either side. The club ditched the collar this time and the Kappa & ‘Barca’ detailing could only be seen in the red stripes.
The Away Jersey had the biggest change, reverting back to orange for the first time since Meyba in 1991. A thick blue stripe ran down the middle of the jersey with thinner blue stripes running along the sleeves. Black was used for the first time on a Barcelona shirt with two thin stripes running parallel with the blue stripe in the middle and black Kappa sleeve taping.
Louis Van Gaal joined Barcelona from Ajax as manager this season, bringing in Brazilian Rivaldo to play up front after the club sold fellow Brazilian Ronaldo to Inter Milan. Rivaldo scored 28 goals in all competitions, firing the Spanish giants to a domestic double, winning the league and Copa Del Rey.
1998/99
Kappa’s 6 year spell with Barcelona was over with Nike taking over the club's kits for the 1998/99 season. They produced a very traditional Home Shirt with thick blue and red stripes, moving the badge into the middle for the first time in history.
The Away Jersey received a big change up, with Barcelona having a silver jersey for the first time. The Jersey had blue and red under the arms of the jersey, keeping the Barcelona identity. Nike also produced a third jersey for the club this season, an orange base shirt with a thick blue stripe running horizontally across the chest.
Louis Van Gaal made it two titles in two years in La Liga, bringing in the De Boer brothers from Ajax along with Patrick Kluivert. Rivaldo continued his goal scoring form in Spain, with another 29 in all competitions.
1999/00
Nike produced a new home jersey for the 1999/00 season, celebrating the club's 100th season, having been founded in 1899. The Home Centenary shirt was half red and half blue, split down the middle. The Barcelona badge remained in the middle with 1899 on one side of the badge and 1999 on the other.
Louis Van Gaal & Barcelona couldn’t make it 3 La Ligas in a row, finishing 2nd behind underdogs Deportivo. Although it was a trophyless season for Barcelona, Kluivert and Rivaldo continued their great form, scoring 23 goals each in all competitions.
2000/01
Barcelona used the same away shirt for the third season running but did wear a new home jersey. The Home shirt for the 00/01 season was almost identical to the 98/00 shirt, keeping the thick red and blue stripes. The only difference between the two shirts was that Nike had introduced a collar for this season.
It was Barcelona’s 2nd trophyless season in a row after so much success in the 90s. The club controversially sold Legend Luis Figo to rivals Real Madrid which had the fans offside before the season even started. Rivaldo continued to dominate and was well and truly one of the best in the word, The Brazilian scored 36 goals for the season, none more important than a bicycle kick to seal a champions league spot in the final game of the season.
2001/02
The 2001/02 Barcelona Home Jersey was again a traditional Barcelona home jersey, keeping the red and blue vertical stripes and adding in two gold lines running down the jersey from the sleeves. The Away Jersey was gold with a thick black line down the centre with a singular red and blue stripe on either side. The Third jersey was all blue and the Barcelona badge and Nike swoosh remained in the centre on all three jerseys.
Pep Guardiola left the club this season, giving the captaincy to Spanish full back Sergi. The club struggled again this season, finishing 4th in La Liga, 11 points behind Valencia who won the league. The bright spot of the season was the Champions League, where they made it into the semi-finals, where they were knocked out by Real Madrid.
2002/03
The Home Jersey for the 2002/03 season saw the biggest change up to the Barcelona home shirt in a while. The jersey had a blue base with two red stripes coming down from the shoulders which got narrower as they reached the bottom of the jersey. The Barcelona Badge and Nike Swoosh were back to their traditional spots on the jersey, moving away from the centre for the first time since 1997/98. The away shirt was a dark blue colour with the home colours evident in a diagonal sash across the jersey.
Barcelona were a mess of the pitch this season, with president Joan Gaspart’s last season at the club, they changed manager 3 times throughout the season. The club had its worst domestic season in 15 years finishing 6th and failing to get past the round of 32 in the Copa del Rey.
2003/04
The 2003/04 Home Jersey went back to thick vertical stripes and kept the Barcelona badge and Nike swoosh in their traditional spots, the kit also had darker blue sleeves and dark blue collar. The away shirt was a gold version of the Manchester United third jersey from the same year, which was obviously a template Nike were rolling with.
Bringing in a lot of new people off the pitch, and adding Ronaldinho on the pitch, Barcelona bounced back after a disappointing last few years, finishing 2nd in La Liga. Barcelona also made the quarter finals of the Copa Del Rey, with Ronaldinho finishing top scorer with 22 goals in all competitions.
2004/05
Barcelona were given the T90 jersey template for the 2004/05 season like most Nike teams. The Nike Total 90 template was meant to be lightweight and provide no distractions while playing. Many European clubs had the T90 jersey, including; Manchester United, Arsenal, and Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid & Valencia also had the T90 Jersey in La Liga.
The 2004/05 season saw Barcelona end their 6 year trophy drought, winning La Liga for the first time since 1998/99. The team had been completely refreshed with Carles Puyol as captain, Samuel Eto’o up front, Xavi & Ronaldinho in midfield and Lionel Messi making his debut this season.
2005/06
The 2005/06 Barcelona Home Jersey had thinner red and blue stripes for the first time ever with the Nike Swoosh slightly higher on the chest than the Barcelona Badge, similar to last season. Nike also gave Barcelona a fluorescent green away jersey for the first time in its history.
Barcelona had started to reap the rewards of bringing in young fresh talent, they achieved a historic season, retaining La Liga and beating Arsenal in the Champions League Final. Samuel Eto’o remained as one of the top strikers in the world, scoring 34 goals in all competitions, including the all important equaliser in the champions league final. This was also Messi’s first season as a regular feature, making 25 appearances and scoring 8 goals.
2006/07
The 2006/07 Home Jersey utilised the thickest stripes the club had used, quite similar to the Kappa Jerseys of the early 90s. The Away Jersey was bright orange, which was an obvious nod to the Meyba shirt from 1991/92, it also featured a front shirt sponsor for the first time in the history of a Barcelona shirt, having a non-commercial agreement with UNICEF.
After consecutive successful seasons, Barcelona were denied a third La Liga win in a row by goal difference, after finishing level on points with Real Madrid. The club failed to win any trophy this season, although Ronaldinho continued to score for the club with 24 goals, and Messi continued to emerge, scoring 17 for the season.
2007/08
The 2007/08 season is one of the most important seasons in terms of Barcelona Jerseys. For the first time in history Barcelona had a front shirt sponsor across all jerseys, keeping a non-commercial agreement with UNICEF which featured on the previous year's third jersey. The home shirt was a traditional Barcelona home jersey, and the away shirt was a gradient blue. Both shirts featured a special badge which celebrated the 50h anniversary of the Camp Nou.
2007/08 was time for another squad revamp, with Ronaldinho playing his last season at the club, and Thierry Henry coming in for his first. The club finished 3rd in La Liga, 18 points behind Champions Real Madrid, the club also made the semi-finals of both the Copa Del Rey and Champions League.
2008/09
In 2008/09 Barcelona went back to a half red/half blue jersey, inspired by the first ever jersey the club wore in 1899 and more recently the centenary shirt from 1999. The away jersey was yellow with a blue and red strip, obviously inspired by the Meyba away shirts of the 80s.
This season the club brought in Barcelona B team manager and 90s captain, Pep Guardiola. Pep took the side to a historic treble in his first season as manager, winning the league by 9 points with a goal difference of +70. Barcelona went on to beat Manchester United 2-0 with an iconic performance from Lionel Messi and beat Athletic Bilbao 4-1 in the Copa Del Rey. The front of Messi, Eto’o and Henry scored a massive 100 goals between them for the season.
2009/10
For the 2009/10 Home Jersey Nike and Barcelona went back to thinner red and blue stripes, similar to the jersey from 2005/06. The away jersey veered away from tradition and went for a pinkish orange base colour instead of a traditional orange away shirt. This away jersey is one of the first in Barcelona’s history to not feature the home colours somewhere on the jersey apart from the club crest. The club also produced a special edition shirt for the Joan Gamper trophy which is a pre-season tournament the club hosts. The shirt was in celebration of the 110th anniversary of the foundation of the club and was dark blue with a red, orange and light blue stripe down the centre.
Pep's Barcelona continue to dominate domestically, winning La Liga again, losing just one game for the season and finishing 3 points ahead of Real Madrid. The club swapped star strikers with Inter Milan, giving up Eto’o and getting Zlatan Ibrahimović in return. Ironically Barcelona were knocked out of the champions league by Eto’o and Inter Milan in the semi-finals. Lionel Messi was named as the world's best player, winning the Ballon d’Or for the first time and went on to score 47 goals in all competitions.
2010/11
The 2010/11 Barcelona home jersey utilized the more traditional thicker stripes that we had come to expect from the Barcelona Home Jersey. The Away shirt was a teal colour, inspired by the Kappa Jerseys of the 90s and featured the home colours across the chest, as is tradition.
It was another season, another lot of trophies for Pep and his men. Barcelona beat out a strong Real Madrid side by 4 points to claim the La Liga title, Leo Messi leading the way with 31 goals in the league and 53 in all competitions. Barcelona went on to play Manchester United in the Champions League final, with Lionel Messi dropping one of the competitions best performances, leading Barcelona to another trophy.
2011/12
The 2011/12 Jerseys introduced a paid shirt sponsor for the first time in its history, much to the disappointment of Barcelona purists who had seen the club resist big money sponsorships for 110 years. Qatar foundation was seen on the front of all jerseys that season, that home was a unique design with thin and thick red and blue stripes. The away jersey was a classy all black shirt with yellow accents.
Barcelona were still playing outstanding football and Lionel Messi continued to be the best in the world, netting 73, yes 73 goals in all competitions. Barcelona did however fall just short in the league, finishing 9 points behind a record-breaking Real Madrid Side. Barcelona also fell short in the Champions League, knocked out in the Semi-finals by a stoppage time Fernando Torres winner. The season finished on a high however, Barcelona beating Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final to send off Pep Guardiola.
2012/13
The 2012/13 Home Jersey was the most dramatic change the home jersey had probably ever received. The stripes were gone and instead it was a dark blue base with a singular red stripe down the centre which blended into the base. The away Jersey was also a wild bright orange and yellow, paying tribute to the away jerseys of the 90s.
The 2012/13 saw a new manager at Barcelona for the first time in 5 years, with Tito Vilanova taking over who worked as an assistant under Guardiola. Vilanova hit the ground running with Barcelona reclaiming the La Liga title and set the record of scoring in every single La Liga match for that season. Messi scored another 60 goals in all competitions.
2013/14
The red and blue stripes made a return in 2013/14 with the Home jersey reverting back to tradition. The home shirt also had a thick yellow collar similar to the one from 2010/11. The away jersey was also a striped number, using multi-coloured stripes on an away jersey for the first time ever in the colours of the Catalan flag.
Tito Vilanova had stood down as head coach and tragically later passed due to cancer leaving Gerardo Martino at the helm. Barcelona very much had an ‘almost’ season, winning no major silverware and finishing 2nd in the league, runners up in the Copa del Rey and exiting the champions league in the quarter-finals.
2014/15
The 2014/15 Home Jersey had thicker red and blue stripes and featured a Catalan flag in the V neck collar. The away jersey was a bright orangey red colour which was meant to pay tribute to clubs La Masia academy. The third kit was a lime green colour, a throwback to 2006/07.
Luis Enrique was introduced as manager and let Barcelona to one of the most successful seasons in the club's history. Luis Suarez had joined Messi and Neymar up front and the trio went on to score 122 goals in all competitions. The side were unstoppable, winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.
2015/16
Nike changed things up in 2015/16, swapping the traditional stripes for a red and blue hooped design. The Away jersey is yellow with red stripes on the back of the shirt, very similar to the Catalan stripes from 13/14. The third kit was a light blue colour with black trimming.
Luis Enrique won back-to-back titles in his first two seasons in charge with Barcelona beating Real Madrid in the league by a point. The side did have a slightly disappointing champions league campaign, knocked out by Atletico Madrid in the Quarter Finals. The club also went on to win the Copa del Rey, cementing this Barcelona side as one of the strongest in world football.
2016/17
The 2016/17 Barcelona Jersey was a retro design, inspired by the Meyba Jersey from 1991/92 which the club won the European Cup in. the Away jersey was a unique dark purple design with fluorescent pink accents, whilst the away was a teal colour, inspired by the 90s.
Luis Enrique would spend his final season in charge in 2016/17 after an extremely successful stint as manager. The side didn’t quite reach the heights of previous seasons, finishing 2nd behind Real Madrid by 3 points in the league. Barcelona were also beaten by Juventus in the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League. They did win one piece of silverware, taking home the Copa del Rey.
2017/18
Nike put a unique twist on the classic red and blue stripes with a faded stripe design. The away jersey was another light blue away shirt, inspired by the away jerseys from the 90s and similar to the 2007/08 jersey. The third shirt was a different maroon colour with a geometrical pattern on the front. Rakuten, a Japanese E-commerce company had became Barcelona's front shirt sponsor, becoming of the biggest sponsorship deals in football.
Ernesto Valverde took over from Luis Enrique, and didn’t miss a beat. Barcelona won the league by 14 points, losing just 1 game for the season. The club won a domestic double, taking home the Copa del Rey as well led by star-man Lionel Messi.
2018/19
The Barcelona 2018/19 Home Jersey by Nike utilised 10 thin red stripes on the blue based jersey, with each stripe representing one Barcelona district. The away jersey was a lime green, with the 2005/06 jersey providing inspiration for a few jerseys in the last few years. The Third shirt was a light pink colour with the design being based on an aerial view of Barcelona’s Eixample district.
Barcelona kept on winning under Valverde, smashing the league and finishing 19 points clear of rivals Real Madrid. Barca also made it to the Copa del Rey Final but were beaten by Valencia. The club were well on track to make it to the Champions League final as well, being 3-0 up against Liverpool after the first Leg before a dramatic second leg saw Liverpool win 4-0 completing one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history.
2019/20
The jerseys for 2019/20 were a mixed bag, with the home receiving a makeover in a checked design which was poorly received. The Away jersey was a nod to the 80s Away jerseys by Meyba with a yellow base and two blue and red stripes. The third kit was one of the kits of the season, a teal jersey inspired by Kappa Jerseys of the 90s, the jersey also features the classic Nike logo.
Valverde only lasted until January this season before he was replaced with Quique Setién. Barcelona finished 2nd in the league behind Real Madrid after bringing in Frenkie De Jong and Antoine Griezmann for big money. The club were embarrassed in the Champions League, knocked out by Bayern Munich 8-2 in the Quarter-finals. Barcelona also disappointed in the Quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, losing to Bilbao.
2020/21
The 2020/21 home jersey was based off of the jersey from 2010/11 where the club won the La Liga and Champions League double. The Away jersey was the clubs first black away jersey since 2011/12, using a black base with gold touches. The third kit was the clubs first completely pink kit with them flirting with the colour, using a peach colour in 2009/10 and 2018/19.
Ronald Koeman was appointed manager in August after a poor showing in 2019/20. The club were again disappointing in the league, finishing outside the top two for the first time since 2007/08. Barcelona were knocked out in the round of 16 of the Champions League by PSG but managed to pick up some silverware, winning the Copa del Rey.
2021/22
Ahead of the 2021/22 Season, Nike went with an unusual home jersey design, ditching the traditional stripes and taking the design from the club crest and applying it to the entire jersey. Nike also mixed things up for the away, going with a light purple base, a combination of the traditional red and blue colours, giving us one of the best kits of the year.
After all the mess in the off-season will Barcelona be able to pull it together and fill the Messi shaped hole in the squad? Or will they suffer another poor season on the pitch? Let us know and if you want to grab any of the Barcelona 21/22 Jerseys grab one in store at Ultra HQ in Sydney or online now.
2022/23
For the 2022/23 Season, Nike went with a fairly classic home jersey design with a twist, adding dark blue to the traditional Blaugrana stripes. The away jersey was inspired by the 1992 olympics which were held in barcelona - with the colouyrs of the olympic rings on the sleeve cuffs.
Nike also threw it back for the 3rd kit, inspired by the away shirt used in 1998/99.
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