Manchester City’s latest acquisition, Tijjani Reijnders, scored a brace and was on a track for a hattrick barring a slip that cost him the opportunity to take the match ball home in a 0-3 win over Palermo in a pre-season friendly. The match, while a success on the pitch, was a complete nightmare for kit manufacturer Puma, which suffered a major quality control failure.
Spelling Error
Fans on social media were quick to notice that the Dutchman had his name spelt wrong on his shirt. ‘Reijinders’ was spelt on the back of his shirt. The name had an extra ‘I’ after the letter ‘J’.
Fans were asking the Dutchman to keep his name as ‘Tijani’ on the back of the shirt to keep things simple. This issue had never happened at his former club AC Milan, where surprisingly the Kit manufacturer was Puma as well.
I mean, we’re struggling to consistently spell his name, but this is poor 😭 pic.twitter.com/OYt2Kykyzd
— mcfc lads (@mcfc_lads) August 9, 2025
Logo Falling Off
Already embarrassed by a spelling error on a jersey, the iconic Puma logo would peel off on Nico Gonzalez’s shirt before the first half would even finish. The sight of the famous leaping cat detaching itself from the jersey was an unfortunate metaphor for Puma’s quality control standards, which appeared to be unraveling in real time.
Nico’s #ManCity away shirt – which costs £130 RRP – didn’t last the first half, with the Puma logo falling off before the 45 minutes were up. 🥴 pic.twitter.com/R9M8Z1WNpM
— City Report (@cityreport_) August 9, 2025
Social media was flooded with jokes and memes. Fans captured images of the logo literally hanging by a thread. “Even the puma is trying to escape,” one Twitter user wrote, while others questioned how a company of Puma’s size could let such a basic error happen.
Jersey Prices
With football jersey’s prices skyrocketing these past few year, coupled with the fact that Authentic player versions tend to cost much more than fan versions. Manchester City’s infamous jersey in question retails for around £85-95 for adults, with authentic match versions pushing £120 or more. Children’s jerseys, despite using less material, still command prices of £65-75.
The exorbitant costs of these jerseys are a dramatic increase from just a decade ago, when replica shirts cost between £40 and £50. Sportswear companies justify these premium prices by promising superior materials, advanced moisture-wicking technology, and meticulous attention to detail. However, when a logo peels off during a match and a player’s name is misspelled, those justifications sound hollow.
Just last month Manchester City would sign one of the most lucrative kit deals with Puma, signing a £1bn kit deal for the next 10 years costing £100m a year. Puma therefore has to earn that money back by charging exorbitant prices. In the end it is the fans that pay for these prices who have to suffer.
