Atlético Madrid Logo

Atlético began playing in blue and white, similar to Athletic Betis, but soon changed to their traditional red and white stripes by 1911. Many believe the change was influenced because red and white striped tops were the cheapest stripes to make, as the same combination was used to make bed mattresses, and the unused cloth was easily converted into football shirts. The kit has been made by Nike for the past nine years, as the company wants to provide competition against Real Madrid, who have a deal with Adidas. The current shirt sponsor is Plus500, while Azerbaijan has a sponsor's logo on the back of the shirt. The shirt sponsorship by Azerbaijan has been condemned by Reporters Without Borders, who satirized it in a campaign visual in which the shirt's vertical stripes become prison bars with the logo "Azerbaijan, Land of Repression". Atlético Madrid admits its sponsorship deal with Azerbaijan has a political dimension, saying the intention is to "promote the image of Azerbaijan". In August 2014, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights wrote to Atlético, calling on it to end the sponsorship by and promotion of Azerbaijan because of Azerbaijan's human rights record, calling it "one of the most repressive countries in the world".

Previously, the club was sponsored by Columbia Pictures, who would change the shirt sponsor's logo, and occasionally the shirt itself, as they did with the away shirt when Spider-Man 2 was in cinemas.

Because shirts would have to be introduced and removed from shops at a very fast pace to keep up with film releases, Nike decided to not include a sponsor's logo on replica shirts made from 2002 to 2005.