Manchester City 26-27 Third Kit Evokes Memories of Chelsea 03-04

Manchester City's 2026-27 third kit evokes memories of Chelsea's 2003-04 away shirt, with both designs featuring a white base and a blue gradient stripe running vertically down the centre.

Interestingly, the Chelsea shirt was carried over as the club's third kit for the 2004-05 season, making the design familiar across two consecutive campaigns.

The story behind Manchester City's new design is just as interesting. Created through PUMA's AI Creator platform, the shirt won the brand's kit design competition in late 2024, after nearly 180,000 submissions. It was one of 10 finalists before ultimately being selected as Manchester City's official third kit.

Thanks to @jersey_story for the information.