Everyone loves retro football shirts. Everyone. The nostalgic feeling you associate with a particular kit brings back fond memories for every football fan, so we have decided to take a trip down memory lane and rank them.
With Liverpool being crowned Premier League champions in the 2019/20 campaign, Football Fan Gifts took every top-flight club from this season and created our own league standings, ranking them on their retro designs instead of their points tally.
Will Liverpool remain top of the table? Are there any surprises along the way? Check out our rankings of every Premier League team’s retro football shirt here:
1. West Ham 1999-01 Home Shirt
What needs to be said about this impeccable design? The collar, the sleeves, the badge. Everything comes together perfectly and this retro design is something special.
The shirt is simple but feels unique with the white lines running on both sides of the shirt, as well as the collar and top trim to the shirt which is a delicious light blue.
2. Crystal Palace 1997 Home Shirt
Another excellent retro football shirt that came close to topping the rankings.
This famous red and blue shirt is synonymous with David Hopkin's last-minute winner that saw Palace become a Premier League club.
The white collar integrates excellently with the rest of the shirt and overall, it’s a splendid design.
3. Southampton 1991-93 Home Shirt
There appears to be a running theme with the top ranked shirts in this list. Saints’ black collar design is another fantastic addition and the stripes coordinate perfectly with the rest of the kit.
Saints fans will not want to miss out on this shirt worn by the likes of club legends Alan Shearer and Matt Le Tissier.
4. Manchester City 1989 Home Shirt
Once again another kit with an excellent, old-school collar that pieces together the shirt. The integrated effects among the blue of the top looks great and deserves to be placed this high in the rankings.
5. Leeds United 1996-98 Home Shirt
The coordinated collar and sleeves make this shirt what it is. It was easy for this to be a plain, white shirt but the added touches makes this a retro design to remember.
This classic design with a brightly coloured trim was worn by the likes of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Tony Yeboah during George Graham's first season in charge at Elland Road, when he took the Whites to the UEFA Cup.
6. Fulham 2000-01 Home Shirt
It’s a little unorthodox with the thick collar, but it surprisingly works very well.
Proudly displaying the 'Demon Internet' logo, Fulham were demons on the pitch as well, as Jean Tigana's side were crowned champions in his first season at Craven Cottage - one for all of the collectors out there!
The innovative design makes this unique and stands out from many of the other low ranking designs.
7. Aston Villa 1982-83 Home Shirt
Designed by Le Coq Sportif, it would be hard to rank the best retro shirts in Premier League history without mentioning this absolute beauty from Aston Villa. The 1983-83 home shirt was worn during the club's famous European Cup final victory over Bayern Munich.
8. Chelsea 1984 Home Shirt
You don’t often associate striped designs with Chelsea, but this 1984 classic provided exactly that. The whole complexion oozes class and deservedly ranks seventh.
Show your support for your favourite club with this iconic strip - Blues fans, this one is for you!
9. Manchester United 1992 Home Shirt
United are known for their outstanding performances on the pitch and they certainly delivered off the pitch in 1992. The white collar looks great and overall, this is a tidy retro football shirt.
With players such as Ryan Giggs, Eric Cantona and Andrei Kanchelskis causing havoc in this beauty, it soon became a shirt seen all over the world. Do not miss out!
10. Liverpool 1989 Home Shirt
Very unorthodox and extremely rare to see, but the Reds made it work. The scratched, red and white design is certainly unique and just places in the top half of the rankings.
Complete with an abstract background and bold Candy logo, this is a real treat for Liverpool fans of all ages!
11. Arsenal 1985-86 Home Shirt
The Gunners produced an impressive shirt design in 1986, but there isn’t anything special that ranks it higher than 10th. Nice kit, but nothing outrageous.
Made famous by Tony Adams and Paul Mariner, it is hardly surprising this extremely rare Arsenal shirt is in hot demand.
12. Sheffield United 1992 Home Shirt
Another club that opted for the lace design for the collar, but it does not work as well as the 1992 Aston Villa shirt. However, it is still a decent kit and ranks 11th.
This cult classic was worn during the first ever Premier League season and the FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday.
13. Newcastle United 1996 Home Shirt
The collar makes this a better design than it should be. There is something about the old-school style collars that automatically makes the kit more impressive - that’s the case here.
This retro shirt also famously featured the club's notable club sponsors ‘Newcastle Brown Ale’ which many older fans will remember!
14. Tottenham Hotspur 1994-95 Home Shirt
Another plain design but due to the collar and sleeve coordination, it ranks higher than it would without them. The shirt needed more substance to push above some of the other competitors.
Jurgen Klinsmann wore this kit during his first spell at White Hart Lane when he scored 21 goals in all competitions and was named the Football Player of the Year. Do not miss out!
15. Brighton & Hove Albion 1983-84 Home Shirt
You can see what the Seagulls were trying with this 1983 design, but the different coloured stripes integrated with the base blue do not look the best. 14th place for Brighton.
16. Everton 1995 Home Shirt
Despite having the collar I love, the colour and design of the collar itself simply does not work. The main design of the blue shirt is bland and nothing about this shirt excites me.
Paul Rideout scored the only goal of the game to ensure the Toffees beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final. A must-have for every Everton fan!
17. Leicester City 1987 Home Shirt
This is a shirt that had potential to rank very high, only to be spoiled by the pattern of the kit itself. The sleeves and colour are excellent but the strange design choice for the blue is underwhelming.
Who wouldn't want the last Admiral shirt with the famous Walkers logo? Foxes fans will not want to miss this one!
18. Wolves 1979-82 Home Shirt
It just does not look good. The black of the collar and sleeves is far too bold and does not complement the bright, bold orange shirt. Poor design and just escapes the bottom three.
This extremely rare long-sleeved shirt is the perfect gift for every Wolves fan!
19. West Bromwich Albion
Not many words can be used to describe this kit. Horrendous, awful, sickening. I mean, it looks like a tea towel! Shall I stop? Very fortunate not to be at the bottom of the standings.
This player issue shirt is the perfect gift for Baggies of all ages! Make sure you don't miss out.
20. Burnley 1991 Home Shirt
Once again, there is not much to say other than the fact it is absolutely horrific. Nothing about this retro football shirt is appealing and deservedly ranks last.
The Clarets won the last ever Fourth Division league title under former boss Jimmy Mullen. Who wouldn't want this iconic shirt? Get it now!
Couldn't find what you were looking for? Check out the Best Premier League Retro Shirts Of All Time to find some more ideas!