Barcelona and Nike are marking the 20th anniversary of their partnership in style by launching a limited run of mash-up jerseys made from every home shirt worn in the last two decades.
The Swoosh has taken pride of place on those red and blue stripes since 1998, a 20-year period that has been a golden era of success for the club — 10 Spanish league titles, four Champions League titles and a host of other silverware. To mark the relationship's 20th anniversary, Nike is releasing a commemorative jersey with a timeline twist
Let's get one thing out of the way pretty quickly: the limited-edition mash up jersey will not be worn on pitch. Now we can move on. What is does do is fuse numerous iterations of the club’s famous stripes on the front, back and sleeves to evoke memories of the team’s many triumphs, nostalgia about legendary players and provide snapshots of iconic kits.
“This idea really came out of the blue," says Pete Hoppins, Nike Football Apparel Senior Design Director. "We wanted to do something different to celebrate the 20th anniversary. The main challenge was ensuring all the previous shirts were represented, but also that each one was carefully placed. We had to be mindful of the overall design, rather than just placing each one anywhere on the garment."
The Nike x Barcelona 20 Year Mash Up Jersey is available from Nov 21 at prodirectsoccer.com
