In the world of sports, just like in corporate, a logo is all about having an identity, a philosophy, and a unique means of being set apart from everybody else.
Every football club, no matter how big or how small, has at some point been on a quest to find the perfect logo for advertising their brand and promoting their club. While some logos came into being almost instantly, many others have undergone years and years of evolution and transformation before becoming what they are today.
Below are some of our favourite European football logos and how they evolved into what we have today.
Arsenal FC
Arsenal’s logo has a long and rich history. First adopted in 1888, only two years after the club was first established, the initial design was based on the Borough of Woolwich’s coat of arms.
The original design remained in place until 1913, when the club added the words “Victoria Concordia Crescit” to the crest. Meaning “victory grows from harmony”, the crest emerged a popular design for the day.
The logo Arsenal fans know and love today was only introduced in 2002 when the FC first started planning their move into a new stadium. A fixture over the years has been the military barrel, with the only change that of the direction of the gunpoint.
Atletico Madrid
Another logo sporting a coat of arms is that of Atletico Madrid.
While before 1917, the logo had club initials only, with the only difference the colours used for the background, the club eventually that year introduced the coat of arms of the City of Madrid with its bear stretching into a strawberry tree. The new design would remain in place until 1939, during which period it wasn’t changed at all.
The biggest change came in 2017, for celebrating a new era in the history of club along with its move to the Wanda Metropolitano stadium. While the bottom of the shield has remained sharp, the top is now rounded and no longer rectangular.
The bear and tree are for the first time ever facing right instead of left.
Barcelona FC
Before 1910, Barcelona too sported the arms of their home city on their official club logo. But during that year, the decision was made that the FC should have its very own crest – with no ties to any city or region aside from the red and yellow stars representing Catalonia and Barcelona. And so was born the sectioned bowl-shape design.
The current crest was chosen by competition and hasn’t changed in too many ways since. The main changes have been for aesthetic improvements.
Chelsea FC
Chelsea’s logo has undergone quite the gamut of changes over the years.
The very first Chelsea logo featured one of the famous Chelsea Pensioners, which were the army pensioners paid at the time from the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
The logo closes to the one loved and adored by fans today was first introduced in 1953, when it was changed to a blue lion holding a staff in an upright position. This is basically the same design used today, with the main difference the three red roses and one football changed to two apiece.