Atletico Madrid Shirt History

Atletico Madrid Kit Manufacturer history 

2001 – present – Nike

Nike has been the principal partner of Atletico for 22 years and with the deal set to last until 2026, it could reach 25. To put into context how long the pair have been partners for, when the deal was originally struck, Atletico Madrid played in the Spanish Second Division. 

Coincidentally, the eleven-time La Liga champions returned to the top flight in their first season donning Nike strips. Atletico won the Segunda Division in 2001/02 with a V-neck polo home shirt which was striped red and white on its base, which also had small blue touches. The arms were predominately white but it did have a red patch running down it, as well as red sleeve cuffs. On their travels for that campaign, the Spanish club would either wear a V-neck red strip with tonal horizontal stripes and black touches or a simple yellow V-neck polo with a blue collar. 

In their top division return season (2002/03), the aforementioned red shirt was kept on as their third kit, but the home and away strips were new designs. The home was striped red and white on its base, but its sides was three quarters white and a quarter red. The arms were mostly red and there was also a red patch running across the shoulders to separate the back from the front. The away shirt was a dark blue crewneck with gold side panels, sleeve cuffs and neckline.

As the club was founded in 1903, Atletico celebrated in the 2002/03 campaign with a beautiful centenary shirt. It was centre badge designed V-neck polo in the club’s traditional colours. The crest had a golden scroll underneath it with 1903 – 2003 written within it. The Nike tick was also gold and placed directly underneath the club’s emblem.

2003 until 2005 saw some of the strangest Atletico shirts come to life given the club’s sponsorship deal with movie company Columbia Pictures. The agreement meant that their kits were used to advertise new films whenever they were brought out. The oddest feature that springs to mind was the webbed Spider-Man away kit, which they wore in 2004/05.

However, in the midst of all the drama (no pun intended), the Spanish club was also part of Nike’s anti-racism initiative which saw a half black and half white strip brought together in that same season. 

The 2013/14 collection has gone down in the club’s history books, given it was the year that Diego Simeone lead the Spanish giants to their first La Liga title since 1995/96 – breaking the Barcelona and Real Madrid dominance. Atletico came from behind to clinch a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou wearing their yellow and blue block design away strip in a historic final day. 

The season prior to this was equally as significant, as the club won the Copa Del Rey for the first time since the 1995/96 double year. In 2012/13, Atletico wore a black and grey horizontally striped kit with red patches around its sleeves and shirt outline. ‘A Feeling, A Passion, A Pride’ was printed inside the shirt.

The next La Liga title came in an equally dramatic fashion in 2020/21, as Luis Suárez scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over Real Valladolid on the last day of the campaign to pip Real Madrid to the trophy by two points. With a classic dark blue polo collar, Nike incorporated red and white brushstrokes stripes for the home shirt that season. The away jersey was a plain dark blue with red details, including hoops around the collar. Quite fittingly, to pay homage to the Fountain of Neptune where Atletico traditionally celebrate their title wins, a trident graphic was printed on to the inner neck. The third shirt was the most eye-catching of the lot, as it was a light lemon colour with a white pattern marked across the base. It also had black side panels. 

Atletico moved to their new stadium, the Civitas Metropolitan Stadium, in 2017, so the 2020/21 title win was, of course, their first one in their new surroundings. To mark their move to a new home, Nike added diagonal sash cut-outs across the classic red and white vertically striped home strip - something we haven’t seen before in the club’s history. Making the strip even more iconic, the club lifted the UEFA Europa League trophy after defeating Marseille 3-0 at Parc Olympique Lyonnais while wearing it.

All three of the regular strips for the 2021/22 campaign paid tribute to the 75th anniversary of the club’s name change to Club Atlético de Madrid, but to further honour it, a commemorative fourth kit was released which purchasing supporters would receive in a special box that includes a copy of the original documentation officially communicating the change of name as of 1st January 1947. The kit was simply red, but '75 años honrando tu nombre' ('75 years honoring your name') was printed in the middle of its chest. The players first wore the strip against Real Sociedad in the Copa Del Rey Round of 16. 

To celebrate reaching the milestone of 120 years since their birth, Atletico wore a modern version of the clubs first ever shirt against RCD Mallorca in April 2023. It’s a half blue and half white crewneck with a white neckline and sleeve cuffs. It also features their first ever emblem which was proudly worn from 1903 – 1911. Recognition is also paid on the inside back neckline with 120 printed in red. Originally, members could buy it for 24 hours exclusively at the club’s private shop. However, much to many of the fans’ delight, it has now been brought back to act as the club's 2023/24 away jersey.