Barcelona's 2016/17 away kit leaked online
FC Barcelona’s 2016/17 away kit has been leaked online by the reliable Footy Headlines, with the website posting official kit launch pictures on its website. The La Liga giants have already unveiled their home kit earlier, and while Lionel Messi will no longer play in Argentinian colours, he will be playing in the unfamiliar colours of purple, black and pink away from the Nou Camp next season.
Barcelona’s new away kit features a sponsor-less look, much like the home kit, with only the Nike logo and the club crest appearing. However, the away kit features unfamiliar colours, with a primarily purple body, while black dominates the shoulders, with pink trim and branding throughout the shirt.
Barcelona’s new away kit is based on Nike’s Vapor kit template, that is also used for the home kit and the sportswear manufacturer’s Euro 2016 and Copa America Centenario teams. The kit bears a striking resemblance to the training kit used by Barcelona in the 2014/15 season, although they have never played in a competitive match wearing the purple/black/pink combination.
The shorts of the Barcelona kit also feature the same colour combination of purple and pink. The shorts are primarily purple, with a pink trim running along the sides, while eschewing the black. To complete the striking combination, Nike have given Barcelona bright pink socks, which will be sure to make this a very unique combination.
Nike have apparently branded the colour combination ‘Purple Dynasty and Hyper Pink’, a combination that is sure to yield extreme reactions – surely no one can accuse Nike of playing it safe.
Barcelona’s record kit deal with Nike
The Catalan club had launched the kit without a shirt sponsor, with Barcelona failing to renew their kit deal with Qatar Airways. Yet, Barcelona managed to negotiate a massive €155 million ($174 million) kit-manufacturing deal with Nike, which broke all kinds of records when it was announced.
Thus, Nike had the negotiating power to make Barcelona announce the home kit ahead of the season, despite the Catalans not having a shirt sponsor. However, the German sportswear manufacturers are prominent in the away kit, with the Nike logo featuring a Hyper Pink colour, instead of the traditional white.
Barcelona’s kit leaking online is in line with its home kit, which had leaked ahead of schedule as well, although the traditional design drew a good response. It remains to be seen whether the bold new design will garner a similar response.