What Is the FC Barcelona Logo?
The FC Barcelona logo is the club crest: a shield with the cross of Saint George and the Catalan flag at the top, the initials FCB across the middle, and blue and garnet stripes with a football at the bottom. It belongs to Futbol Club Barcelona, the football club from Barcelona, Catalonia, founded on 29 November 1899 by Joan Gamper and a member of La Liga, Spain's top division.
The crest's layout dates from 1910 and its outline from 2002. It is available as the FC Barcelona logo SVG.
FC Barcelona Logo Facts
| Designer | Santiago Femenía (1910); redrawn by Claret Serrahima (2002) |
| Introduced | 1910 |
| Symbol | The cross of Saint George, the Catalan flag, blue and garnet stripes and a football |
| Logo type | Emblem: initials and symbols inside a shield |
| Earlier mark | The coat of arms of the city of Barcelona |
| Owner | Futbol Club Barcelona |
What the FC Barcelona Logo Means
The top left quarter carries the cross of Saint George, patron saint of Catalonia, which also appears in the coat of arms of the city of Barcelona. The top right carries the red bars on yellow of the Catalan flag. Together they tie the club to its city and region.
The lower half belongs to the club. Its blue and garnet stripes are the shirt colours that give the team its nickname, Blaugrana, and the club says the football at the centre stands for the Barça style of play. The band in the middle carries the initials FCB, for Futbol Club Barcelona.
FC Barcelona Logo History
Until 1910 the club used the coat of arms of the city of Barcelona, a quartered shield topped by a crown and a bat.
In 1910, after Joan Gamper had pulled the club through a severe crisis in 1908, Barça held a crest competition open to all members. Santiago Femenía, a former player, won with a pot-shaped shield that set out the cross, the Catalan bars, the initials F.C.B. and the striped lower half with a ball.
Most later changes were small adjustments to the outline. The big ones were political. Under the Franco regime the initials became C.F.B., for a Castilian version of the club's name, and the Catalan bars were cut from four to two. The four bars came back in 1949, for the club's 50th anniversary, and the F.C.B. initials returned at the end of 1974.
In 2002 designer Claret Serrahima gave the crest its present shape. He made the lines more stylised, removed the dots between the initials and reduced the number of points on the shield, so the crest would reproduce more easily.
A 2018 proposal to drop the letters FCB was withdrawn: at the members' assembly on 20 October 2018, president Josep Maria Bartomeu called off the vote after members objected.
Barça and Real Madrid
Politics reshaped the crests of both Spanish rivals. Barça lost two of its Catalan bars under Franco, while Real Madrid lost its royal crown when Spain became a republic in 1931 and got it back in 1941 (compare the Real Madrid logo).
For more clubs like FC Barcelona, browse our sports logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the cross on the FC Barcelona crest mean?
It is the cross of Saint George, patron saint of Catalonia, which also appears in the coat of arms of the city of Barcelona.
Who designed the FC Barcelona crest?
Santiago Femenía won the club's crest competition in 1910, and Claret Serrahima redrew the crest in 2002.
Did FC Barcelona try to remove FCB from its crest?
Yes. A 2018 redesign without the letters was withdrawn at the members' assembly on 20 October 2018 after members objected.