Which Football Shirts Do Fans Most Want to Avoid? Our 2026 Order Data Reveals All
Mystique Jerseys Data Study • January–July 2026
Which Football Shirts Do Mystery Box Customers Most Want to Avoid?
Ahead of the new football season, we analysed our own mystery football shirt order data to find the clubs customers most frequently asked us not to send.
Football supporters are usually asked which club they love. We decided to look at the opposite question: which football shirt would fans rather not find when opening a mystery box?
Customers ordering selected mystery football shirts from Mystique Jerseys can tell us which teams they would like us to avoid. That gave us a unique set of real customer data showing how club loyalties and football rivalries influence the mystery-shirt experience.
We reviewed 5,819 Shopify orders placed between 1 January and 31 July 2026. From those, we identified 955 qualifying football mystery-shirt orders where the customer had provided at least one team to avoid.
The result could hardly have been closer: Liverpool finished as the most frequently excluded club with 220 orders, just three ahead of Arsenal on 217.
The 10 Most Avoided Football Clubs
Liverpool took first place, but Arsenal were only three exclusions behind. Manchester City and Manchester United were even closer, with just a single order separating the two Manchester rivals.
| Rank | Club | Orders Excluding Club | % of Qualifying Orders |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 220 | 23.0% |
| 2 | Arsenal | 217 | 22.7% |
| 3 | Manchester City | 198 | 20.7% |
| 4 | Manchester United | 197 | 20.6% |
| 5 | Chelsea | 142 | 14.9% |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 131 | 13.7% |
| 7 | Rangers | 119 | 12.5% |
| 8 | Everton | 63 | 6.6% |
| 9 | Real Madrid | 48 | 5.0% |
| 10 | Celtic | 39 | 4.1% |
Customers can list more than one team to avoid, so the percentages above are not intended to total 100%.
Liverpool vs Arsenal: Just Three Orders in It
The battle for first place was remarkably close throughout the seven-month period. Liverpool ultimately finished on 220 exclusions, while Arsenal recorded 217.
Arsenal actually recorded more exclusions than Liverpool in January, May, June and July. Liverpool led in March and April, while February ended level. Despite that, Liverpool's stronger margins in the months they led were enough to put them narrowly on top overall.
| Month | Liverpool | Arsenal |
|---|---|---|
| January | 27 | 28 |
| February | 20 | 20 |
| March | 30 | 27 |
| April | 26 | 22 |
| May | 37 | 38 |
| June | 37 | 38 |
| July | 43 | 44 |
| Total | 220 | 217 |
Manchester City vs Manchester United Was Even Closer
If three orders separating Liverpool and Arsenal sounds close, Manchester went one better.
Manchester City were excluded from 198 qualifying orders, while Manchester United appeared in 197. That means just one order separated the city's two biggest clubs across the entire seven-month study.
Rangers Are the Standout Result Outside England's Biggest Clubs
One of the most interesting results came in seventh place.
Rangers were specifically excluded from 119 orders, equivalent to 12.5% of all qualifying orders.
That put Rangers comfortably ahead of Everton on 63, Real Madrid on 48 and Celtic on 39. Rangers were therefore excluded in more than three times as many qualifying orders as Celtic.
What About National Teams?
Club football dominated the specific exclusions, but customers also named international sides.
England were the standout national-team exclusion, appearing in 76 qualifying orders between January and July.
We have kept national-team exclusions separate from the club ranking so that the comparison remains consistent.
Why Do Mystery Football Shirt Customers Exclude Teams?
The data does not tell us why an individual customer excluded a particular club, so we have deliberately avoided presenting the ranking as a list of the “most hated football clubs”.
There are plenty of possible reasons: traditional rivalries, family loyalties, shirts already owned, local allegiances or simply personal preference.
What the data does show is which teams appeared most often when real customers were given the opportunity to tell us what they did not want inside a Mystery Football Shirt Box.
Methodology
- We reviewed 5,819 Shopify orders placed between 1 January and 31 July 2026.
- The final dataset contained 955 football mystery-shirt orders with at least one non-empty team exclusion.
- Only football mystery-shirt products where an exclusion field was supplied were included.
- Rugby, GAA, accessories, prints and unrelated products were excluded.
- Obvious variations such as “Man Utd”, “Man United” and “Manchester United” were standardised as the same club.
- A specific team was counted no more than once per order.
- Teams mentioned as explicit exceptions were not counted. For example, “all Premier League teams except Chelsea” does not count Chelsea as an exclusion.
- Broad entries such as “Premier League teams”, “all English teams” or similar requests were not expanded into individual clubs.
- Club and national-team exclusions were analysed separately.
- Customers could exclude multiple teams, meaning percentages do not total 100%.
This is an analysis of Mystique Jerseys customer order data rather than a representative opinion poll of all football supporters. The results should therefore be understood as the clubs most frequently excluded by customers in our qualifying mystery football shirt orders during the period studied.
What Is a Mystery Football Shirt?
A mystery football shirt box gives the customer a genuine football shirt without revealing the team in advance.
At Mystique Jerseys, customers can browse our full mystery football shirt collection, including our standard Mystery Football Shirt Box, Premium Mystery Football Shirt and Kids Mystery Football Shirt.
For customers who enjoy receiving a new surprise regularly, we also offer selected football shirt subscriptions.
Ready to Try a Mystery Football Shirt?
Tell us the teams you'd rather avoid and leave the rest of the mystery to us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which football club was excluded the most?
Liverpool were the most frequently excluded club in the study, appearing in 220 of the 955 qualifying mystery football shirt orders analysed.
Which club finished second?
Arsenal finished second with 217 exclusions, just three fewer than Liverpool.
Which Scottish club was excluded the most?
Rangers were the highest-ranked Scottish club with 119 exclusions. Celtic recorded 39 and finished tenth overall.
Can customers tell Mystique Jerseys which football teams to avoid?
Selected mystery football shirt products allow customers to provide teams they would prefer not to receive. This exclusion data is what formed the basis of the study.
Does this mean Liverpool are the most hated football club?
No. This is not a general football popularity survey. It measures which clubs were most frequently entered as exclusions by Mystique Jerseys customers in the qualifying orders analysed.