Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana has been wearing a replica shirt and other players are using replacement socks after complaining their official kit is too tight.
Sources said the “minor kit issue” was being “resolved or in process of being resolved” by Adidas, the club’s official kit supplier. Some members of the squad have been reportedly rejecting the official home socks since the second game of the season.
Onana is also understood to have had issues with the higher-tech player jerseys, which have a closer fit than those made available in the shops for purchase by supporters. He is believed to have switched to a looser off-the-peg shop version since United’s 2-1 victory over Sheffield United on October 21.
Onana has a larger frame than David de Gea, with the official jersey for last season appearing significantly more baggy when the Spaniard played in it. Issues with socks, meanwhile, are common with players these days, with many cutting holes in their calves and sometimes trimming off the foot entirely.
United, humbled 3-0 by Manchester City at Old Trafford on Wednesday, next face a Carabao Cup tie against Newcastle, who had also been at the centre of a dispute about their Castore kit.
Telegraph Sport reported in September how the club had received complaints about poor customer service, as well as some long delays in orders being delivered. Fans had also complained about the poor quality of some of the products, as well as a lack of available stock in the Castore stores in the city.
A kit contract between Newcastle and Castore was due to expire at the end of the 2025/26 campaign but the team’s kit will now be produced by Adidas from the start of next season.
The Telegraph had also detailed how Aston Villa, whose kits are also manufactured by Castore, had received complaints from their women’s and men’s team about the club’s shirts, which appear to become drenched by players’ sweat.
In a statement in response to the Villa issue, Castore said: “There has been some media speculation about a potential issue in the football kit supplied by Castore to Aston Villa Football Club. We are working closely in collaboration with the club to address this issue as quickly as possible to meet the standards we expect. We would like to thank the club for their patience and support to date.
“As a proud new British brand, we always hold ourselves to the highest of standards and strive to do everything we can to constantly improve the performance of our products. This means addressing any customer concerns with promptness and humility.”