Manchester United unveil new third kit designed by a FAN as they go with grey for the first time since infamous 1995-96 'invisible' number

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Manchester United have revealed their new third kit for the upcoming season which has been designed a fan.

Some United fans might not be enthused about a new grey strip as it does bear a similarity to the infamous grey kit from the 1995-1996 season. That kit was voted as the club's worst ever in a 2013 fans' poll in the Manchester Evening News.

The so called 'invisible' strip has gone down in Premier League folklore after Sir Alex Ferguson famously ordered his players to change out of the grey number after they came in 3-0 down away to Southampton in April 1996. 

Manchester United have revealed their new third kit which has been designed a fan

The new grey strip bears a similarity to the infamous kit from the 1995-1996 season

Ferguson said post-match: 'The players couldn't pick each other out. They said it was difficult to see their team-mates at distance when they lifted their heads.'

The new kit was created and produced as part of adidas Football Creator Studio, a digital platform giving fans the chance to design their club's third kit, with the United competition won by Aniello Carotenuto. 

The Creator Studio platform allowed fans the opportunity to design the third kits for United and five other clubs – Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan and Flamengo.

All submitted kits were voted on by fans in a 'battlemode' that saw the most popular kits shortlisted to a top 100. The winners for each club were then chosen by an expert panel of some of the clubs' most iconic players and a design by Carotenuto came out on top for United.

Paul Pogba, Daley Blind and Juan Mata all feature prominently in the release pictures

Carotenuto, 21, got to meet United stars Paul Pogba, Daley Blind and Jesse Lingard as the publicity shots for the new kit were taken. 

Pogba told the Italian student: 'What have you done here? You have created a dream. I like it, I like it. You have imagination brother.'

The designer explained how he came up with his submission: 'I wanted to make something special, something unique. One of the most iconic things about Manchester United is the Holy Trinity and another is Old Trafford, I tried to match them together,' said Carotenuto. 

'[Meeting the United players] is probably the best day of my life. If it is a dream don't wake me up.'

The shirt is designed with a graphic showing the silhouette of the famous 'Holy Trinity' statue

According to the marketing material, the kit, which will be worn during the 2017-18 season, represents the powerful bond between the team and the fans. 

The light grey shirt is designed with a graphic showing the silhouette of the famous 'Holy Trinity' statue outside Old Trafford. The statue of club icons Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law represents a golden era for the club and this unique history was the inspiration for the new third kit.

The kit is available to purchase through adidas and official club stores from Friday 21 July.

UNITED'S GREY DAY AT THE DELL 

In the 1995-1996 season, Manchester United launched a new all-grey away strip – that was voted as the club's worst ever kit in a 2013 fans' poll in the Manchester Evening News.

The strip has gone down in Premier League folklore after Sir Alex Ferguson famously ordered his players to change out of the grey number and into a blue third kit after they came in 3-0 down away to Southampton in April 1996.

Ferguson said after the game: 'The players couldn't pick each other out. They said it was difficult to see their team-mates at distance when they lifted their heads.'

United improved but still lost the game 3-1. It was the fifth time United had worn the jersey – and they failed to win a single game – losing four and drawing one when sporting the dreaded grey. 

United swapped their grey kit for blue after going in 0-3 at Southampton in April 1996

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