In a world where football teams churn out new home strips every 12-months, it’s difficult for the people tasked with designing them to make them look noticeably different year on year.
Because of that, new designs inevitably look like designs from yesteryear. It’s unavoidable and sometimes intentional.
Next season’s Barcelona shirt (if these leaked images are correct), is a prime example of this. Having experimented with horizontal stripes on their 2015/16 design, Nike have switched back to vertical stripes for the new design.
But it’s the (temporary) lack of a sponsor that’s the most notable difference…
Having failed to negotiate a new deal with existing sponsors Qatar Airways, Barca’s next home shirt currently has no main sponsor on it.
Les noves samarretes del Barça duran la senyera a la part posterior.https://t.co/TEzrYImFxD pic.twitter.com/1wAgo5l1nh
— LaTdT (@LaTdT) May 26, 2016
Barca were one of the last major sides on the planet to secure a deal to have a major shirt sponsor, and the current design doesn’t look too dissimilar to the shirts they’ve worn in their past.
But with talks with potential sponsors ongoing, it seems Barca’s new shirt won’t remain sponsor-less for too long.
Manel Arroyo, one of Barca’s vice presidents, told Catalunya Radio that their unusual situation has been discussed with kit suppliers Nike.
“Everything has been spoken about with Nike and they understand the situation. Barca sell the shirts, not any brands, so we’re aware what we’re working on and the situation we have on our hands.
“When the current shirts are all out of stock, the new shirts will appear in the shops, without a sponsor, for now.
“There will be a sponsor. We are working on it, me and the commercial team. Everything is following the path it should. The only thing I can say is that to do our job well, we have to be discrete and silent regarding the negotiations.”
