Barcelona have got off to a solid start in La Liga as they look to defend their title, with two wins from two. However, fans would have noticed that the Spanish giants have worn their old kit from last season in both games so far.
Indeed, Hansi Flick's men wore the club's lime-green third kit, which was released for the 2024/25 season in their campaign opener vs Mallorca and then donned it again in their most recent outing vs Levante. There's an interesting reason behind the decision, though, as it was actually out of Barca's hands, with the call made by La Liga.
Barcelona Wore Old Third vs Mallorca
Barcelona vs Mallorca
Barcelona started their La Liga title defence with a fine 3–0 win over Mallorca away from home, with goals from Raphinha, Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal getting them across the line with relative ease. They did so in that old third kit, despite having released three new kits for the 2025/26 season.
This is because La Liga – who have the final say on the kits every team wears for every matchup of the season – did not approve any of the 2025/26 options for the encounter. It came down to simple colour clashes.
Indeed, the classic Blaugrana shirt was ruled out because it was too similar to Mallorca’s red home shirt. This is almost always the case when Barca face teams who wear red. However, the away kit was also not allowed as the black shorts and black socks were identical to the opposition's home kit.
The club's third kit hadn't actually been released at that stage, but as it is bright orange, La Liga also ruled it out. Understandably, per Sport, they felt it clashed with the red Mallorca home shirt.
Levante Also Clashes With New Barcelona Kits
Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski in action with Levante's Unai Elgezabal
Against Levante, the Catalan outfit had a trickier time on the pitch. Indeed, they were 2-0 down by half-time, but after Marcus Rashford was hooked at half-time on his full debut, Flick's men staged an impressive comeback. Two goals in quick succession saw them draw level through Pedri and Torres before Yamal's last cross was deflected in for an own goal by Unai Elgezabal to seal a 3-2 win in the 91st minute.
Even more so than Mallorca, Levante's striped home kit is similar to Barcelona's iconic design, so that was always going to be ruled out. Their new away kit also clashes with the dark shorts and socks. The orange kit also failed La Liga's test, meaning that 2024/25 kit was once more in use.
What's interesting is that, as well as taking into account the perspectives of players and referees, La Liga also wanted to make sure viewers watching the game on TV were not confused by any potential kit clashes at the time. This desire for clear visibility is why they have been so strict.
The good news is that Barcelona take on Rayo Vallecano away from home next week. They wear an all-white design, so it's more than likely that the famous Blaugrana home shirt will be donned with the 2025/26 design on display at last.