Manchester United Logo

Manchester United Logo PNG

The Manchester United FC logo is distinguished by its original design, recognition, and ease of remembering. An eye-catching color scheme and a red devil mascot symbolizing the “devilish” struggle for victory enhanced the visual impact.

Meaning and History

Newton Heath did not have the emblem, and even after the renaming to Manchester United, the club’s logo was not created. Distinctive marks on T-shirts were mostly made only for the final cup matches at that time. So since the United finished the first FA Cup in the 1908/09 season, the first club’s logo on the team’s T-shirt appeared specifically for this match. It was the Lancashire red rose.

The second Manchester United logo was based on the Manchester Army Consulate’s coat of arms and was first introduced in 1948 when the team played in their second FA Cup final. The same Red Devils logo was depicted on the uniform of United players in the cup final against Aston Villa in 1957.

The period between the First and Second World Wars was unsuccessful for the team. In the finals of the cups, the players did not participate; accordingly, no logos appeared on the T-shirts. Only 39 years after the first triumph in the FA Cup, Manchester United reached the final tournament again, where he beat Blackpool with the score 4:2. The coat of arms of Manchester was the club’s logo, depicted on the T-shirt in that match.

The Manchester logo shows a ship, and this attribute was found on all the Red Devils logos. Why ship? Manchester is one of the main port communities in England. The coat of arms of Manchester is executed in red-yellow colors, and these historical colors passed on the further club’s emblems.

In the sixties, the emblems were not as common in every team as used to be. Manchester United invited artists who have developed the outlines that are very close to the current Manchester United logo.

Only the ship and the color palette have survived from the Manchester sign. There was the title “Manchester United” and below – “Football Club.” If you believe the team’s historians, the logo was inspired by the fun of the Matt Busby team. For a couple of months, Manchester United had a rather obscure red and black coat of arms, although it did not last long.

In 1970, an image of the devil replaced the yellow-red diagonal stripes on the Manchester United logo. Long before the update of the club’s sign, the team was called “Red Devils.” The nickname the team owes to the famous Sir Matt Busby. He was inspired by the nickname of the rugby team Salford City and decided to apply it to Manchester United. The new calling was great and even deserved the right to be on the logo.

The modern Manchester United logo appeared in 1998. It was not quite different from the previous one. A minor “cosmetic repair” removed the inscription “Football Club,” and the word “United” was located in the lower part. The sign on was squeezed horizontally and added a black outline.

For a long time, Manchester United did not have a permanent emblem. During the F.A. Cup final matches, players wore T-shirts featuring the Scarlet Rose of Lancaster. Then – with the emblem of the city. That all changed when Matt Busby suggested defeating the nickname Red Devils in symbolism. He hoped this would intimidate opponents.

What is Manchester United?

Manchester United is a professional football team from the United Kingdom-based in Greater Manchester. This sports club is one of the oldest in the country, founded in 1878. Its current name was adopted in 1902, before which it was called Newton Heath LYR. Today, the team plays in the Premier League. Home games and training sessions are held at Old Trafford stadium (since 1910).

1878 – 1902

The train is painted on the green-yellow shield because the club’s founder was the railway department of Manchester Newton Heath, and the players included railway workers. The name of the team (“Newton Heath L&YR F.C.”) and the year of its foundation (“Established 1878”) are written on top.

1902 – 1940s

At the beginning of the century, Manchester United used the emblem of his hometown as a logo. The main elements of the logo: a shield with three yellow stripes, a ship, a heraldic hoofed wolf with antlers of a moose, a lion, bees, a knight’s helmet, and the motto “Concilio Et Labore.” The same club badge was at Manchester City.

1940s – 1960

In the mid-20th century, the team had a new emblem, which was officially introduced in 1948. It depicts a rectangular shield with a sharp base, divided by a horizontal line. At the top is a ship – a symbol of urban trade. At the bottom is the devil, a reflection of the nickname Red Devils. To the right and left are soccer balls. The balls are placed between the semicircular frames with the words “Manchester United Football Club.”

1960 – 1970

In the 1960s, the club changed the logo, inspired by the city emblem. Instead of the devil, three diagonal stripes appeared on the shield. Instead of balls, flowers are painted. They are white like York roses, although Manchester is in Lancashire County.

1970 – 1973

The version of the emblem, which was used until 1960, is restored. Three yellow lines intersect the lower part of the shield, as on the city emblem. Red and yellow tones dominate the design.

1973 – 1998

In 1973, the shield on the logo turned yellow. A red devil with a trident appeared on it again.

1998 – today

Shortly before the new millennium, the inscription “Football Club” disappeared from the logo. She was replaced by the word “United,” which was supposed to make the brand more international. Fans did not like this decision, so the Avram and Joel Glazer team’s owners promised to consider restoring the previous logo.

The 1998 Manchester United logo lettering is in a sans serif typeface, roughly similar to ITC Stone Sans SemiBold. This sans serif was created by the American typographer Sumner Stone while working for Adobe. The palette of the emblem completely repeats the official colors of the professional football club: black (#000000), gold (#FFE500), and red (#DA020E). Each of them has a rich hue.

Font and Colors

The Manchester United emblem depicts a red devil, which looks more like a blob. It reflects the club’s ancient nickname – Red Devils, earned by the players because of their uniform color. The mythical creature appears as a fun cartoon character, suggesting more self-irony than an attempt to intimidate opponents. The evil spirit stands on one leg, and in its hands, it holds a trident with spikes at the ends.

Designers also remembered the symbols of the city: the shield with a sailing ship clearly reminds them of the state coat of arms of Manchester. And this is quite expected because, until the 1940s, the team used it as an emblem. In the 1960-1970s, an attempt was made to bring the logo design closer to the original, for which the developers removed the devil and replaced it with diagonal lines. But the modernization was unsuccessful because the Red Devils became very attached to their nickname.

As a result, the cartoonish little devil with a trident once again took an honorable place in the lower half of the shield and never disappeared from it again. There are two more elements without which the Manchester United emblem is incomplete – footballs. They are part of the decorative frame.

The logo features the inscription “MANCHESTER UNITED.” The neat sans serif font is reminiscent of ITC Stone Sans SemiBold, created by American graphic artist and typographer Sumner Stone. It has the same unevenly thick lines, rectangular edges, and smooth rounding.

The club remains true to its traditions: since 1970, all emblems necessarily include red, yellow, white, and very little black. The last three versions differ from each other in shades. For example, in the current logo, the palette includes bright red (#DA291C) and lemon yellow (#FBE122). Moreover, these colors have a slight gradient.

Manchester United color codes