I wasn't expecting another shirt leak between last week's "final" reveal and the official unveiling (May 4th and the final home match on May 15th), but Footy Headlines have scored what they're calling "the first real pictures of the new Chelsea kit" and, well, they're looking quite a bit worse than previous pictures.
Official Pictures Leaked: Adidas Chelsea 2016-17 Home Kit: https://t.co/6LklsjBq2r
— Footy Headlines (@Footy_Headlines) April 29, 2016
There are several high quality and close-up shots over at Todo Sobre Camisetas, who are generally regarded as the best source for kit leaks anywhere on the web.
NUEVO POST: Chelsea Adidas Home Kit 2016 2017 LEAKED https://t.co/gGpBWQSuCF
— Todo Sobre Camisetas (@EleteTSC) April 28, 2016
The main difference from the previous leaks to these "official" shots is the color of the shirt and the size of the background lion print. Colors of things on the Internet don't always match what we see in real life (monitor settings, color profiles can vary wildly from system to system and user to user), but the design itself is already a step backwards from what we've seen before.
According to some sources, this will be the 2016-2017 Chelsea FC Home Kit. #CFC pic.twitter.com/CsysTXSi1l
— ️ (@CFCReIated) April 28, 2016
Those pictures are absolutely hideous: multiple shades of blue (is the back different shade than the front?), pajama print of slightly faded bigger and darker lions (as opposed to smaller and lighter, like before, and only on the front, except the sleeves where it's all-around?), lack of contrast on the short-sleeve cuffs... yama hama, it's fright night. Or should I say, yoko hama?
They might turn out just fine in person, and I was fairly happy with previous leaked shots, but this version is just a giant mess. We're trying to move on from messy things, adidas. Order, discipline, winning is the name of the game! Not this ... thing that looks like a design reject from the '90s.
Ugh.