Man City's top 10 away and third kits of all time - ranked

A year before City were bought by Sheikh Mansour, they were the subject of another takeover by Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand. His stay as City owner was brief and controversial, but his arrival created a big buzz among the supporters as his initial investment brought a flood of new players for a total of around £75 million.

Brazilian Elano and Bulgarian Martin Petrov were the biggest successes of a season in which City made a flying start under Sven Goran Eriksson before fizzling out and finishing ninth in the table. Petrov's best performance was in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Fulham, scoring twice while wearing this eye-catching purple kit.

The same summer that Pep Guardiola arrived as coach, City unveiled a new badge as part of a club rebrand in line with the new direction the club were going. City had already won two Premier League titles under the Abu Dhabi ownership, but Guardiola's arrival signalled greater ambition on and off the pitch.

The new crest was inspired by the previous badge, eliminating the eagle but restoring the red rose of Lancashire and keeping the Manchester canal ship. The new badge was resplendent in yellow on the background of this black away kit with burgundy sleeves.

It was an overall disappointing, trophyless first season under Guardiola, but impressive first campaigns by new arrivals such as Leroy Sane pointed the way to a bright future.

Robinho was the first marquee signing of the Abu Dhabi era, a star for Real Madrid and Brazil and one of the most famous players in the world. He proved to be an enigmatic figure for City, catching fire in his first season and scoring 15 goals but fading badly in his second, though he was not helped by injuries. He left after less than 18 months, going back to Brazil to join Santos on loan.

But City fans have not forgotten the early thrills he gave them, including a match-winning display at Everton, scoring a goal and setting one up for Stephen Ireland while decked out in City's traditional red and black away colours.

Red and black are City's most iconic away colours, going all the way back to when they won the 1969 FA Cup final against Leicester. And the 2011-12 version of that shirt is the club's most memorable given how things turned out.

Most of the team's big wins that season came wearing their home kit, including all six matches of the title run-in. But they laid down a marker wearing this away kit early in the season at Tottenham, when Edin Dzeko scored four goals in a stunning 5-1 victory at White Hart Lane.

Erling Haaland's arrival in the Premier League had been eagerly anticipated, and he sure did not disappoint on his debut for City at West Ham. He opened his account in England with a confidently-taken penalty and then demonstrated his clever movement and clinical finishing to grab his second goal.

As he celebrated his strike with a yoga pose on the pitch of the London Stadium wearing this bright yellow and black shirt, it was clear that City fans had a new hero and English football had a new icon. He has not slowed down since, going on to break the record for the most Premier League goals in a season.

And wearing the same colours, he scored perhaps his finest goal yet, his jaw-dropping bicycle kick at Southampton.

The quality of kits has been so high, as has the football, that we have chosen two shirts from the 2022-23 season. After Nike had seemingly forgotten about the red and black stripes and phased them out of their designs, Puma decided to honour tradition in their fourth year as City's kit maker and brought them back.

This design had a twist, featuring diagonal rather than vertical stripes in a nod to the red and black sash in previous away kits. And City have scored some fine goals wearing their traditional away colours, including Julian Alvarez's stunning 30-yard strike at Fulham.

City were pushed all the way to the 2018-19 Premier League title by an awesome Liverpool side, and it took an almighty effort to finish top. They did it thanks to an amazing run of 14 consecutive victories, culminating in the 4-1 thrashing at Brighton on the final day of the season, wearing this pin-striped black away kit.

Typically, City did not take the easy route and fell behind to a Glenn Murray strike. But as is also typical of Guardiola's side, they responded emphatically, with Sergio Aguero equalising a minute later before Aymeric Laporte, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan got in on the act.

City ended up changing into their home strip for the trophy lift, but fans won't forget that the title was won in this stylish, eye-catching black, yellow and blue jersey.

City unveiled an all-maroon away kit for Guardiola's second season in charge, and it proved to be a lucky charm as they won every single time they wore it.

Guardiola's side began the season with a 2-0 victory at Brighton in the maroon kit and enjoyed other successes while wearing it at Watford (6-0), West Brom (3-2) and when effectively wrapping up the title with a 3-1 win at Everton.

City were even better away than at home in this season, winning 16 out of 19 away matches on their way to a record-breaking 100 points as they romped to the Premier League title.

This is one of City's smartest ever away kits. The red and black sash mimicked the design of the 2002-03 kit, which was modelled on the shirts from the 1970s, but this was more stylish. The Etihad Airways sponsor was discreetly tucked up in the corner underneath the badge, giving more prominence to the sash and giving the shirt a more traditional feel.

The shirt also witnessed an enthralling victory at Chelsea which had added spice when media stories emerged of an affair between John Terry and Wayne Bridge's ex-girlfriend. Bridge and Terry refused to shake hands before the match, which was played out amid huge tension on the pitch and in the stands.

City ended up winning 4-2 with two goals each from Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy, showing they were the next emerging force in English football and a serious threat to Chelsea's recent dominance.

Forget Sergio Aguero against Queens Park Rangers, forget Ilkay Gundogan against Aston Villa, forget Pep Guardiola's arrival. The most important moment in City's modern history is the 1998-99 Division Two play-off final.

City had sunk to English football's third tier the year before and missed out on automatic promotion to Walsall. And they were in deep trouble in the play-off final against Gillingham after conceding two goals in the last 10 minutes.

Another season in Division Two was looming and could have left City ruined financially. But Kevin Horlock gave City hope in the 90th minute before Paul Dickov struck in the fifth minute of added time to force extra-time. The game went to penalties and Nicky Weaver became a City legend forever by saving three spot-kicks in the shootout victory.

City won promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking and are now the dominant force in English football and among the best teams in Europe. But fans know how important this day was, and these yellow and black stripes will forever be in their hearts.