When does a club actually wear its third kit?

Only when both the home and away shirts clash with an opponent, which usually happens in European competition rather than domestic league matches.

Why do third shirts tend to have bolder designs?

They carry less of a club's core identity than the home shirt, so manufacturers often use them to try patterns and colours a home kit never would.

Are third shirts rarer than home or away shirts from the same season?

Generally yes, since clubs print far fewer of them and rarely reissue the same design the following year.

Shipping is free within the Netherlands and Belgium from 100 euros, and worldwide from 150 euros. Everything ships with track and trace.

THIRD SHIRTS

A third kit exists for one reason only: a genuine colour clash between two clubs whose home and away shirts still overlap, which is why it stays the least essential shirt in a club's wardrobe and often the shortest-lived design of the three.

More information

The kit that only exists for a clash

Most clubs go a whole season using only home and away, reaching for a third shirt only when both of those clash with an opponent, usually in European competition against a team from outside the domestic league. That limited use means smaller print runs and less retail push behind the design, and it shows in how much less common a third shirt is compared with the home or away kit from the exact same season.

Where manufacturers go furthest with pattern

Because a third shirt carries less brand weight than the home kit, it is often where a manufacturer risks the boldest print: Manchester City's 2014-15 and 2015-16 third shirts under David Silva and De Bruyne both lean into pattern work the club's home shirt never touched, and PSG's 2017-18 third shirt worn by Mbappé does the same. Juventus's 1995-96 Del Piero third and 2014-15 Pirlo third, a full two decades apart, show how differently the same club has treated the slot over time.

Messi and Real Madrid in third colours

Barcelona's third shirts trace several distinct Messi seasons on their own: 2013-14, 2017-18 and a 2021-22 shirt worn by Gavi, none of them in the club's usual blue and red. Real Madrid's side of this collection includes Raul's third shirts from 1998-99 and 2004-05 and a 2002-03 centenary edition worn by Zidane, each a genuine departure from the all-white home identity the club otherwise almost never changes.

Smaller clubs, same rare logic

The same scarcity applies further down the list: Feyenoord's 2002-03 third shirt worn by Van Hooijdonk, AS Roma's Totti-era third shirts and Lille's 2012-13 third worn by Payet are all one-season designs rather than a recurring kit. Because none of these were reissued or repeated the following year, a third shirt from any of these clubs is usually a genuine single-season find rather than one entry in a longer run.

Good to know

When does a club actually wear its third kit?: Only when both the home and away shirts clash with an opponent, which usually happens in European competition rather than domestic league matches.
Why do third shirts tend to have bolder designs?: They carry less of a club's core identity than the home shirt, so manufacturers often use them to try patterns and colours a home kit never would.
Are third shirts rarer than home or away shirts from the same season?: Generally yes, since clubs print far fewer of them and rarely reissue the same design the following year.
Is shipping free?: Shipping is free within the Netherlands and Belgium from 100 euros, and worldwide from 150 euros. Everything ships with track and trace.