Manchester City have unveiled a new club crest which will appear on the team’s shirts from the start of the 2016-17 season. The new design marks a departure from the existing badge, adopted in 1997, and instead resembles an updated version of the club’s previous crest which was first used in 1972.
The new crest features a shield that retains the gold ship which has featured in the club emblem for almost a century, as well as three diagonal stripes – representing the rivers Irwell, Medlock and Irk – and the red rose of Lancashire. For the first time, the crest also includes the year the club was founded – 1894.
The crest was revealed ahead of Manchester City’s Boxing Day game against Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium, after a lengthy consultation with fans, who were broadly in favour of retaining or reintroducing the ship, rivers and rose that have featured in previous designs.
Joe Hart, Manchester City’s longest-serving player, told the official website: “I am really looking forward to wearing it. It’s something new. This is what I love about this club and the journey I have been on since I’ve been here. There have always been new and exciting things and every one of them positive. It’s no different with this badge. I think it’s great.”
The change in style, removing the eagle, the often derided three gold stars and Latin motto ‘Superbia in Proelio’ from the crest – brings the design in line with other clubs owned by the club’s parent company, City Football Group – MLS side New York City FC and A-League team Melbourne City. The current badge, which will appear on shirts until the end of this season, has overseen a dramatic period in the club’s history, with the team dropping to the third tier before returning to the Premier League, going on to winning four trophies following a takeover by Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group.
