The Heritage of Olympique de Marseille Kits
Olympique de Marseille football shirts represent the soul of French football's most successful and passionate club. Founded in 1899, OM has worn its distinctive white shirts through well over a century of history that includes ten Ligue 1 titles, ten Coupe de France victories, and most significantly, their legendary 1993 Champions League triumph - making them the only French club ever to lift Europe's greatest prize. The Marseille shirt has been worn by some of football's greatest names, from Jean-Pierre Papin and Didier Deschamps to more recent heroes like Dimitri Payet and Florian Thauvin, each adding their own chapter to the club's rich tapestry.
Evolution of Marseille Kits
The iconic all-white home kit has been Marseille's calling card since the 1930s, though the club's earliest years saw various colour combinations. The white shirt represents purity and pride for Marseillais supporters, while away kits have ranged from sky blue (referencing the city's Mediterranean location) to bold turquoise, navy, and even striking orange designs.
Marseille's kit partnerships read like a who's who of sportswear giants. Adidas produced their shirts during the glory years of the late 1980s and early 1990s, including the iconic trefoil jerseys worn during their Champions League victory. Puma took over in the 2000s, creating some memorable designs including the centenary shirt. More recently, the club has partnered with Adidas again, bringing modern performance technology to the classic white aesthetic.
Shirt sponsors have included major French brands like Panasonic during the Tapie era, through to Orange telecom and more recently betting companies, each becoming woven into the visual memory of different OM generations.
Most Iconic Marseille Shirts
The 1992-93 Adidas Champions League winning shirt remains the holy grail of Marseille jerseys. This pure white kit with subtle blue and gold trim, adorned with the Adidas trefoil logo, was worn during their famous 1-0 victory over AC Milan in Munich. Despite the controversies that followed, the shirt itself represents the pinnacle of French club football achievement.
The 1989-90 Adidas home shirt, worn during OM's dominant domestic period, featured bold blue and white shoulder stripes and became synonymous with the Papin-Waddle era. This design captured Marseille at their attacking best and remains hugely popular among retro football shirt collectors.
Puma's 1999 centenary kit celebrated 100 years of OM with a special gold-trimmed design that paid homage to the club's history. More recently, the 2019-20 anniversary kit featured a stunning all-over graphic print inspired by Marseille's famous Stade Vélodrome roof, showing how modern designs can honour heritage while looking forward.
Little-Known Facts About Marseille Kits
The Olympic Rings Connection
Few fans realise that Marseille's official name, Olympique de Marseille, has absolutely nothing to do with the Olympic Games. The "Olympique" was simply a fashionable addition when the club was founded in 1899, as many French sports clubs at the time adopted Greek-inspired names to sound prestigious. Despite this, the club has occasionally incorporated subtle Olympic-style rings into commemorative designs, creating an unintentional connection that never actually existed.
The White Shirt Superstition
Marseille's famous all-white home kit wasn't actually their original colour scheme. In the club's earliest years, they wore various combinations including blue and white stripes. The switch to all-white didn't happen until the 1930s, and it came about partly by accident - when the club needed new shirts and white fabric was readily available and affordable. However, once adopted, the white became sacred. There's a famous superstition among OM supporters that the team performs better in pure white with minimal colour additions, leading to fan protests whenever designers try to add excessive blue or other colours to the home shirt.
The Drogba Shirt Mystery
When Didier Drogba signed for Marseille in 2003, the club shop initially printed hundreds of shirts with his name spelled incorrectly as "Drobga" due to a miscommunication between the printing department and the player registration office. These misspelled shirts are now highly sought after by collectors, with some selling for more than authentic versions due to their rarity and the story behind the error.
The Cursed Away Kit
OM's 2007-08 all-black away kit gained a reputation as "cursed" among supporters after the team failed to win a single away game while wearing it in the first half of the season. The superstition grew so strong that players reportedly requested not to wear it, and the club quietly shelved the design mid-season, reverting to their blue alternative. It remains one of the rarest modern Marseille shirts as production was halted early, making it a cult classic among kit collectors despite its unfortunate reputation.
The Velodrome Roof Print Innovation
The 2019-20 kit featuring the Stade Vélodrome's distinctive roof pattern was created using actual architectural blueprints from the stadium's 2014 renovation. Adidas designers worked with the architects to translate the geometric patterns into a wearable design, making it one of the few football shirts in history where the pattern is mathematically accurate to real architectural specifications rather than just artistic interpretation.
Sponsor-Free European Nights
During their Champions League winning season, UEFA rules meant that Marseille wore shirts without their Panasonic sponsor in European competitions, as the Japanese electronics giant wasn't an official UEFA partner. These sponsor-free shirts from the Munich final are among the most valuable OM collectibles, with match-worn versions selling at auction for five-figure sums. The clean look of the white shirt without advertising actually influenced modern design trends toward minimalism.
The Papin Number Phenomenon
Jean-Pierre Papin wore the number 9 with such distinction that after his departure, the shirt became a burden for subsequent strikers. Between 1992 and 2000, no striker who wore the number 9 for OM managed more than 10 goals in a season, leading to talk of a "curse of the 9." The club eventually broke this by retiring the number ceremonially before reassigning it, a psychological reset that seemed to work when future strikers began finding success again.
The sky-blue inspiration: The colour isn’t random — it’s drawn directly from Marseille’s coat of arms, which features a light-blue cross on a white background, symbolising purity and the Mediterranean sea.
A shirt that glows in the dark: In 2013, Adidas released a limited-edition third kit with phosphorescent accents designed to shine under the floodlights — one of the first glow-in-the-dark football shirts ever made.
Banned by UEFA: The 1989/90 Adidas home shirt briefly fell foul of European kit regulations because its oversized sponsor logo didn’t meet competition guidelines. Marseille had to produce a last-minute variant for European matches.
Adidas' personal touch: When Adidas returned in the mid-2000s, the design team based in France worked directly with local Marseille supporters’ groups to co-create detailing, including the city’s motto “Droit au But” (“Straight to the Goal”) embossed behind the crest.
Gold for glory: After their Champions League triumph, Marseille temporarily incorporated gold trim in the club’s kit and badge to signify being “Champions of Europe.”
Unreleased fourth shirt: In 1995, a planned turquoise-and-navy fourth kit was designed but never released commercially due to the club’s off-field turmoil — original samples are now highly sought after by collectors.
Our Marseille Shirt Collection & Personalisation
At UK Soccer Shop, we stock the complete range of Marseille football shirts including the latest home, away, and third kits alongside classic retro designs. Our collection covers adult sizes from small to XXXL, kids' kits with matching shorts and socks, and women's fitted jerseys. Each shirt is 100% authentic and officially licensed by OM.
Personalise your Marseille shirt with official Ligue 1 printing, adding your favourite player's name and number with authentic league patches. From Payet's 10 to legendary numbers from the club's history, our professional printing service uses the same technology as the clubs themselves. We also offer gift packaging and expert sizing advice to ensure your purchase is perfect.
Related Ligue 1 Shirts and French Football Kits
Explore our complete Ligue 1 shirts collection featuring all of France's top-flight clubs. Check out Paris Saint-Germain kits for the fierce Classique rival, or browse Lyon shirts and Monaco jerseys for other historic French powerhouses. Our French football shirts category includes the national team and lower division clubs.