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Liverpool are preparing for a new era with Adidas, but this is what the kits could have looked like if they stayed with Nike
“Everyone at the club is incredibly excited to welcome Adidas back into the LFC family,” said Billy Hogan, the club’s chief executive officer. “We have enjoyed fantastic success together in the past and created some of the most iconic LFC kits of all time.”
Adidas first sponsored Liverpool between 1985 and 1996 and were at front and centre of a number oficonic kitsduring title triumphs under Kenny Dalglish, FA Cup wins under Graeme Souness, a League Cup triumph under Roy Evans and the start of an era where Liverpool’s young stars of the 1990s were referred to in a media pejorative as the ‘spice boys’.
Nearly a decade later, Adidas returned for another six-year stint between 2006 and 2012, in an era which saw Rafael Benitez’s team reach the Champions League final, compete for the title, and win the League Cup with the Adidas era ending at a full circle moment with Dalglish once again at the helm.
Liverpool fans are hoping to make plenty of new memories in a new-look Adidas kit next season, but what would their kit have looked like had they chosen to stick with Nike?
Liverpool’s pre-Adidas 2025/26 kit ‘leaked’
As per Footy Headlines on X, Liverpool’s prototype designs that were in place to be used by Nike have been ‘leaked’ for the 2025/26 season. Of course, they won't be released as Adidas have officially become Liverpool's kit supplier since the 25-26 season.
The home and away kits feature Nike's classic Swoosh logo from 1978 to 1985. The third kit features the iconic Total 90 design.
The Liverpool 25-26 home football shirt combines several shades of red with white logos. The supposed prototype away football shirt has a unique design with an off-white top that transitions to white below. Nike appear to have used vertical stripes to accentuate the transition area. The third strip, meanwhile, is predominantly black with an orange outline.
How Liverpool fans reacted to the rumoured Nike prototypes
The general consensus from most Liverpool fans was that they were not impressed with the prototypes apparently proposed by Nike, with many welcoming the move to re-sign with Adidas next season.
One fan posted on X: “Good Riddance to Nike. New Balance’s kits from 2016-2020 crushed anything Nike did.” Another added: “All 3 are truly horrific. What has happened to Nike?” A third also posted: “Liverpool’s Adidas kits are 100000000000 times better than these Nike kits.”
Liverpool have lifted plenty of silverware with Adidas in their illustrious history but the one trophy they have not yet managed in both Adidas eras is the Champions League. The Reds were European champions one year before the first Adidas partnership started in 1985 and were also Champions League winners twenty years later in 2005 a year before the second Adidas era came into effect.
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