Manchester United have worn some great kits in the Premier League era. The Red Devils are probably one of the hardest teams to make a top five football shirts list for, simply because they have won so many trophies and there are just so many massive games that live in the memory. We’ll do our best though.
Manchester United 1993-95 Away by Umbro
This black away kit is undoubtedly one of the most iconic kits of the 90s. It was worn in the infamous Crystal Palace vs Man United game at Selhurst Park in which Eric Cantona kung-fu kicked a hooligan in the crowd. You can make your own mind up whether it was justified or not but the FA didn’t look at it too kindly at the time and banned the Frenchman for an unprecedented nine-months! With King Eric out of the team the side wore this away kit at West Ham on the last day of the season when they handed the title to Blackburn. So not all good memories. The shirt itself is a great design, with the iconic yellow embossed Sharp Viewcam sponsor and stitched Umbro and club crest. The long sleeved version is probably one of the greatest kits of the 90s, unfortunately it was never available to the general public
Player: It’s Cantona isn’t it, for the good and the bad, with the collar up of course.
Eric Cantona Kung-Fu kicked 'the hooligan' on this day 1995 ????pic.twitter.com/gf3zNoIY2S
— Vintage Football Shirts (@VFshirts) January 25, 2022
Manchester United 1998-00 Home by Umbro
It was a difficult decision between this and the other treble winning home kit worn in the 1999 Champions League final. In the end, when you remove the nostalgia of the Solskjaer goal, we just think this kit, with the Umbro logos running down the sleeve, is just a bit nicer. Feel free to have a go at us on social media though!
Player: David Beckham. Coming back from that incident at the World Cup to become one of the world’s great midfielders.
Manchester United 1992-94 Third by Umbro
Umbro’s first year as United’s kit manufacturer coincided with the 90th anniversary of the side’s name change from Newton Heath to Manchester United. This didn’t pass Umbro by and they immediately used this early influence to build another of the 90s greatest kits. The colourway was taken from the original half and half Newton Heath home kit used prior to the famous red we see today. This was finished with a great lace neck collar to provide an almost perfect change kit. It’s a design we won’t see again anytime soon as it’s synonymous with the Glazer Out campaign, unless we see an owner change and then it might be the first thing they do!
Player: A young Ryan Giggs running down the wing in the long sleeved version.
Manchester United 1992-94 Home by Umbro
We’re aware that it’s another shirt from the first two years of the Premier League but this home kit is too good to leave out. This kit, with the laces on the collar and brilliant subtle pattern in the background, feels like the birth of modern day Manchester United and the foundation of their domination of English football. It was an iconic squad and a truly iconic kit.
Player: It could be Cantona again, to be fair it could be for all the 90s kits, but we want to give a shout out to Mark Hughes who was top goalscorer in the 1992-93 title winning season.
Manchester United 1990-92 Away by adidas
The only kit we’ve chosen outside the Premier League era and to not be manufactured by Umbro. This famous adidas away kit with blue cloverleaf design is much sought after among United fans. Although we've seen references of this design in the second adidas kit era we probably won’t see it again in this colourway as it does make the kit similar to their city rivals, Manchester City. The stand out victory wearing this shirt was the 6-2 League Cup - Rumbelows cup at the time - victory over Arsenal. You could actually call this the League Cup shirt as a year later they lifted the trophy in this kit.
Player: We’re going with Lee Sharpe. If you have a bit of time on your hands then watch his hattrick in the 6-2 victory over Arsenal wearing this kit.