Retro Riyad Mahrez Shirt – Algeria's Mercurial Genius

Mahrez's professional career began modestly at Le Havre in France, where he struggled to break through consistently. In 2014, Leicester City signed him for a reported fee of around £400,000 – a sum that would soon look almost comically small. His early seasons at the King Power Stadium showed flashes of brilliance, but nothing could prepare the football world for what was to come in 2015-16. Leicester City's Premier League title win that season stands as one of the greatest sporting upsets in history, and Mahrez was central to it. He won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, finishing the campaign with 17 goals and 11 assists. His performances that season were breathtaking – dribbling past defenders as though they were training cones, scoring screamers, and producing moments of genuine genius on a weekly basis.

Despite Leicester's historic triumph, Mahrez was keen to test himself further. After a failed move attempt in January 2018, he finally secured his dream transfer to Manchester City in the summer of that year for £60 million, then a British record for an African player. Under Pep Guardiola, he became a key contributor to one of the most dominant sides English football has ever seen. He won multiple Premier League titles with City, and in 2023 he played a pivotal role in the club's historic treble – Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League. His goal in the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid was a moment of ice-cold nerve and finishing.

On the international stage, Mahrez led Algeria to Africa Cup of Nations glory in 2019, scoring crucial goals throughout the tournament and lifting the trophy as captain – one of the proudest moments of his career. In 2023, he made the move to Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli, continuing his career in a new chapter while remaining Algeria's talisman.

Throughout his career, Mahrez has been shaped and defined by the players and managers around him. At Leicester, Jamie Vardy was his perfect foil – the raw, relentless striker who finished off the chances Mahrez created with his clever running and vision. N'Golo Kanté, in his Leicester incarnation, provided the engine that allowed Mahrez and others to express themselves freely. Manager Claudio Ranieri, with his warmth and tactical intelligence, created the perfect environment for Mahrez to flourish during that title-winning miracle season.

At Manchester City, Guardiola pushed Mahrez to become more consistent and tactically disciplined, while surrounding him with world-class talent. Kevin De Bruyne's passing unlocked defences for Mahrez to exploit, while Erling Haaland's arrival gave opposition defenders a different nightmare to deal with, creating more space for wingers like Mahrez to operate. Sergio Agüero, during their overlapping years, was another devastating attacking partner.

In the Algeria shirt, Mahrez has often carried the team's creative burden alongside players like Islam Slimani and Sofiane Feghouli, forging a national team identity built around his individual brilliance.

The shirts Mahrez wore throughout his career are now among the most sought-after in the retro football shirt market. The Leicester City 2015-16 home shirt – the blue and white home shirt worn during their miraculous title-winning campaign – is arguably the most iconic and collectible, a piece of football history that transcends the club itself. Any version bearing Mahrez's number 26 and name from that season is considered a holy grail for collectors.

The Algeria national team shirts from the 2019 AFCON-winning campaign hold immense sentimental and historical value. The green away shirt and the white home shirt, worn as Mahrez lifted the trophy, represent a defining chapter in North African football history.

His Manchester City sky blue shirts from the treble-winning 2022-23 season are already attracting serious collector interest, particularly from the Champions League campaign. The retro Riyad Mahrez shirt in Leicester's colours remains the most emotionally resonant, however – a reminder of the season when football proved that the impossible is sometimes merely improbable. Designs from that era feature the simple, clean lines of the Puma shirts that have aged beautifully.