For many decades, the sport of football has been the source of entertainment for millions. Every weekend during the season, football fanatics will glue their eyes to the television sets and cheer for their favorite club as loud as they possibly can, but what about the offseason?
What about the two months of summer with barely any club football action? Well during this time, fans wait for the club to release their new kits and immediately spring to the nearest outlet store to purchase it.
As the 2019/20 season of European football approaches, many top clubs have been working on upgrading their kit designs from the previous year.
Some teams, like Barcelona, decided on incorporating past designs into their jersey while other teams, like Roma, worked on creating an innovative style that will immediately raise shirt sales.
This article will take a look at some of the most attractive and eye-catching away jerseys that clubs have presented this offseason.
Honorable Mention: Manchester City
For the defending champions of England, the away kit was never a problem. In the past couple of years, Manchester City has decided to use black as their primary away kit color, which has yielded lots of successful reviews.
The reason this City away jersey doesn't make it into the top 10 is that it's not much of an upgrade from the previous one. In 2018, the club added thin lines of alternating yellow and light blue, which made the jersey stand out.
This year, they've decided to remove the stripes and instead incorporate a yellow and black stripe design on the left shoulder, commending The Hacienda.
The blue and pink sleeve cuffs add a nice touch of color contrast to the cascading black, and the goalkeeper's kit looks stunning, but it narrowly missed the top ten list.
#10 Liverpool
Just a mere two months ago, Liverpool defied all expectations in their quest for a sixth European championship. After slipping past German giants Bayern Munich, they overcame a 4-0 deficit to thwart Barcelona, before finally finishing off with a comprehensive two-goal victory over rivals Tottenham.
Now they look to defend their crown, but this time in a much better style. The red and blue sleeve cuffs pair well with the white background, and the grayish-blue logo/sponsor color is an improvement from the orange-purple combination the club used last season.
#9 Nantes
What makes this selection particularly unusual is that Nantes is a club that's not really known for stylizing up their jersey. The Brittany club usually keeps their away kit very simple, complementing a plain design with broad colors like navy blue or dark green, however this year they've done something different.
Not only did they add the wave design across the jersey, but they've even revamped the club logo. The new Nantes logo has a significant resemblance to the style Juventus use, with bold lines forming an "N" shape. However, unlike the Juve logo, Nantes still preserve part of their old logo with the Hermine at the bottom (the city's coat of arms).
Overall, Nantes fans should be pretty excited to buy this new jersey.e bottom (the city's coat of arms). Overall, Nantes fans should be pretty excited to buy this new jersey.
#8 Ajax
If there's one club making the rounds this summer, its got to be Ajax. Whether it be their remarkable run to the semis in the recently concluded Champions League or the transfer speculations of some of their most prominent stars, the Amsterdam-based club is always headlining the news.
Even their latest away kit has been making the rounds recently after the club introduced a completely different color scheme to their uniforms.
Next season, Ajax players will now don a khaki and orange jersey with the addition of multiple dark green shades of stripes, and unusual yet oddly appealing combination for a football uniform.
#7 Borussia Dortmund
Over the course of the past decade, Dortmund has decided to don black away kits, and this year is no different. The Westphalian club chose to sport a primarily black design, but with the incorporation of a textural granite design on the front, and thick silver lines on the shoulders.
The raglan sleeves and the v-neck collar compliment the predominant shades of black, while the silver outlining brings a new element to the overall design of the jersey.
Dortmund has almost always met expectations when it comes to their kit design, and this one's among their best ones so far.
#6 Real Madrid
FIFA's best club of the 20th century hasn't disappointed this offseason. With signing future Galactico stars in Eden Hazard, Luka Jović, and Ferland Mendy, along with an upgrade on their home and away uniforms, Real Madrid fans will be excited heading into the 2019/20 football season.
According to the club's official website, the wavy design is a representation of the ambiance fans generate at the Bernabéu during the historic La Decima season, which shows how important the fans are to the club.
The space blue and gold combination used truly highlights the richness of the jersey, and the design portrays a galaxy-inspired theme (which could be a nod to the start of a new Galacticos era).
#5 Inter Milan
As the years pass by, many clubs look for tons of innovative techniques and designs they can incorporate into their kits.
Other clubs, like Inter Milan this season, display how less is actually better.
The use of mint green across the shirt really makes the shirt stand out, and the Milan club made sure to pair this well with a black and beige stripe design.
What also makes this shirt interesting is that Inter decided to pay homage to Julió Cesar, the treble-winning goalkeeper who wore similar colors for the club.
Here's a prime example of how both history and appealing design are flawlessly assimilated in the club's kit, making it one of the best shirts heading into the new season.
#4 Wigan Athletic
Wigan is probably the most unexpected selection of the lot, due to the fact that their home kit received significant backlash.
However, they've managed to turn things around with their away jersey, displaying a continuous hexagonal design across a flashing redshirt.
The use of dark blue to complement the red worked out very well, especially on the sleeve. Puma may have not done so well with English kits in the past, but they've certainly improved their designs this season.
#3 Crystal Palace
Puma has certainly been on a roll this season, and they break into the top 10 yet again with another English club in Crystal Palace.
The Eagles certainly changed things up this season, replacing the traditional diagonal stripes with vertical stripes similar to that of Paris Saint-Germain.
Not only that, but they've also decided on adding red and blue shoulder stripes, as well as a wave-like swivel going across the shirt, in order to increase its overall appeal.
With Aaron Wan-Bissaka already at United and Wilfried Zaha transfer rumors heating up, this kit is certainly something that's keeping palace fans elevated.
#2 Roma
Roma has always been known to keep their kits simple with a Tyrian purple home kit and a white away one. This year they've managed to add more flair to their kit, especially with a flash of lightning running directly through an eminent white background.
Roma has also added raglan sleeves with different shades of white, along with a contradicting black colored sponsor title. The reason Roma ranks at second is not only because of the astonishing design, but also the level of improvement made from the plain-gray away kit last year.
Altogether, this is probably one of the best kits Roma's ever created.
#1 Barcelona
Taking the pole position in this ranking is none other than Barcelona. The "throwback" jersey brings back the style of the '70s when Johan Crujiff made his mark in La Liga.
It is also a commemoration for 40 years of La Masia, Barcelona's youth academy which has produced so many global stars such as Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, and Andres Iniesta.
The yellow, red, and blue colors work extremely well together, and the implementation of the Catalan flag on the neck of the shirt pays homage to the region.
There's also a running zig-zag pattern across the central regions of yellow so that the color does not overpower the entire kit.
This time around, the likes of Griezmann, Messi, and co. will shine in this retro-styled jersey, and everyone can't wait until they do so.