It’s long been said that corporate greed is killing football’s working-class roots, and Liverpool’s new home jersey is exemplary of that killing.
Revealed on May 2 by way of another Aimé Leon Dore-like lookbook, Liverpool’s room-dividing 2024/25 Nike jersey has X’s football sphere embroiled in discourse.
Although the design of the jersey has lent itself to heated social chatter (mainly the shirt’s abnormally-shaped collar), its supercharged $160 price tag is the most pertinent topic of conversation.
To be clear, that’s $160 for just the jersey. You’d be nearing the $250 mark if you were to cop the entire on-pitch look, shorts and socks included.
According to reports, the rise is down to Nike bumping up their manufacturer's suggested retail price for all its clubs' kits this season.
Liverpool, though, has set its prices on average 5.5 percent lower than Nike’s RRP for the new season, which is lower than the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
But with Premier League ticket prices at an all-time high and the matchday experience costing $75 on average, the simultaneous increase in the cost of club merchandise comes as no surprise.
Of course, the rise in jerseys isn’t entirely new. Earlier this year England revealed its new Nikes kits ahead of this summer’s Euro 2024 tournament, which too are priced at $160. This too was met with a backlash.
That, though, doesn’t soften the blow of such an expensive on-field jersey. Liverpool’s latest reveal simply reiterates the fact that football continues to move away from its working class roots and that it’s still out-pricing those that make the sport what it is: the fans.
It's worth remembering too that Liverpool still has two more jerseys to drop ahead of next season (away and third), both of which will presumably cost the same. So, to be clear: that’s almost $500 to simply wear your club’s colors.
The working man's game, huh?
