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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Ewan Ross-Murray

Why Man Utd Have Banned Cristiano Ronaldo Shirt Printing

Cristiano Ronaldo’s fabled No.7 jersey is still popular at Old Trafford. | IMAGO/News Images

Manchester United have already released their home and away shirts for the 2025–26 season and supporters have been desperate to get their hands on adidas’s eye-catching new designs.

The home offering boasts black and white trimmings on a United-red base, while the away shirt is a tad different with a white jersey brought to life by lavender and deep purple accents. Like the majority of the club’s kits, they are already flying off the shelves.

However, some fans have been left bemused by United’s strange club policy which forbids them from printing the names of three club legends on the back of replica shirts, including five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.


Why Have Man Utd Banned Cristiano Ronaldo Shirt Printing?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy lift the FA Cup in 2004.
Ronaldo (left) is a Man Utd icon after two spells with the club. | Paul Marriott/IMAGO

While there might be something cool and trendy about a classic player name on the current shirt, any United supporters eager to get Ronaldo’s printed on the back of the new jersey through the official club shop will be disappointed to discover that it’s not possible due to licencing issues. The same applies for two more famous No. 7s in Eric Cantona and David Beckham.

As discovered by author and Simon Lloyd at United’s Old Trafford Megastore, a club policy mounted on the wall reads: “Due to licensing restrictions, we are unable to print Cantona, Beckham, and Ronaldo.”

This restriction boils down to the fact that Cantona, Beckham and Ronaldo all own their own image rights, confirmed to The Sun, meaning their names cannot be printed on shirts at the club shop.

Despite the status of all three as club icons, supporters will have to look towards other heroes—both former players and present—for shirt printing on the 2025–26 kits. New signings Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha will be popular choices for the upcoming season, while current captain Bruno Fernandes is also destined to grace plenty of replica shirts.

United have been enjoying life in their new jerseys during the Premier League Summer Series in the United States, with victories over West Ham United and Bournemouth already in the bag. They will be hoping for a third successive win in their new threads when they battle Everton this Sunday.


READ THE LATEST MAN UTD NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Man Utd Have Banned Cristiano Ronaldo Shirt Printing.

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