Manchester City FC Crest History:
Crest: City have previously worn three other badges on their shirts, prior to their current badge which was implemented in 2016. The first, introduced in 1970, was based on designs which had been used on official club documentation since the mid-1960s. It consisted of a circular badge which used the same shield as the current badge, inside a circle bearing the name of the club.
In 1972, this was replaced by a variation which replaced the lower half of the shield with the red rose of Lancashire.
A new club badge was adopted in 1997, as a result of the previous badge being ineligible for registration as a trademark. This badge was based on the arms of the city of Manchester and consisted of a shield in front of a golden eagle. The eagle is an old heraldic symbol of the city of Manchester; a golden eagle was added to the city’s badge in 1958 (but has since been removed), representing the growing aviation industry. The shield features a ship on its upper half representing the Manchester Ship Canal and three diagonal stripes in the lower half symbolise the city’s three rivers, the Irwell, the Irk and the Medlock. The bottom of the badge bears the motto “Superbia in Proelio“, which translates as “Pride in Battle” in Latin. Above the eagle and shield are three stars, which are purely decorative.
On 15 October 2015, following years of criticism from the fans over the design of the 1997 badge, the club announced they intended to carry out a fan consultation on whether to disregard the club badge and institute a new design. After the consultation, the club announced in late November 2015 the current club badge would be replaced in due course by a new version which would be designed in the style of the older, circular variants. The new design was officially unveiled end of 2015.
