Olympique Lyonnais Logo (Lyon logo) PNG
The Olympique Lyonnais logo features traditional elements that make the club recognizable. The emblem reflects national pride and love for the home city. The carefully chosen colors create visual harmony that emphasizes the desire for epic victories.
Olympique Lyonnais was founded in 1950 when the professional football team split from Lyon Olympique Universitaire. Known as OL, the club won its first official match 3–0 against CA Paris and earned promotion to France’s top division in its debut season. It won its first French Cup in 1964 against Bordeaux, followed by further wins in 1967 and 1973. Striker Fleury Di Nallo scored 220 goals over fifteen seasons and earned the nickname “The Little Prince of Gerland.”
Financial troubles and player departures contributed to relegation in 1983. IT entrepreneur Jean-Michel Aulas became president in 1987, and Lyon returned to the first division in 1989 before finishing runner-up in 1995 under Jean Tigana. A League Cup victory in 2001 preceded the club’s first league championship under Jacques Santini in 2002. OL went on to win seven consecutive league titles through 2008, completing a domestic double in the final year. Juninho Pernambucano, Grégory Coupet, and Sidney Govou played in all seven championship seasons.
Lyon reached the Champions League semifinals in 2010 and 2020, losing to Bayern Munich on both occasions, and reached the Europa League semifinals in 2017. The club won its fifth French Cup in 2012 and moved from Gerland to a new stadium in Décines-Charpieu in 2016, later named Groupama Stadium. John Textor’s Eagle Football took control of the OL group in 2022, but financial difficulties led to a relegation ruling in 2025. After a leadership change and a successful appeal, Lyon retained its Ligue 1 place under president Michele Kang and was approved to enter the 2025/26 Europa League.
Meaning and History
The city’s main symbol, and the club’s heraldic lion, stands on its hind legs. Of course, it doesn’t look the same as the original: the designers experimented for a long time before arriving at the final version for Olympique Lyonnais. Additional elements also changed frequently: for example, the traditional shield would disappear and reappear in a new shape, and the team’s initials would move constantly.
What is Olympique Lyonnais?
Olympique Lyonnais is a French professional football club. Based in the eponymous city in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, it competes in Ligue 1 and won a major title in 2002. The club was founded in 1950. The team has won 8 Trophées des Champions and 5 Coupe de France.
1950 – 1974
Lyon’s coat of arms provided the basis for Olympique Lyonnais’ first emblem in 1950. A white lion with raised forelegs and its head facing the viewer’s left appeared on a red shield with a pointed base. The lion had been part of Lyon’s heraldry long before the soccer club existed. The similar sound of “Lyon” and the French word “lion” reinforced the connection to the city.
The club was formed in 1950 when the professional soccer section separated from the Lyon Olympique Universitaire sports association. Surgeon Albert Trillat, who helped establish the club, proposed the name Olympique Lyonnais. “Olympique” means “Olympic” in French, while “Lyonnais” identifies an association with Lyon. The initials of the 2 words formed OL. At Trillat’s suggestion, the club adopted red and blue, colors associated with the city’s symbols.
The upper portion of the city’s coat of arms was adapted for the soccer emblem. On the municipal version, a blue band bearing 3 gold fleurs-de-lis sits above a silver lion on a red field. In the club’s design, separate uppercase “O” and “L” letters replaced the fleurs-de-lis. Blue, white, and red preserved the connection to the heraldic model.
In the version with a white upper band, the OL initials and thick outer border were a dark blue-violet. The letters had uniform strokes and no serifs, with open space between the “O” and “L.”
1974 – 1976
Olympique Lyonnais’ updated emblem featured interlocking initials in 1974. White OL letters sat on the left side of a red field. The “L” extended downward from inside the “O,” forming a monogram. A gold lion reached toward it with its forepaws. Below the animal was a white soccer ball with a blue outline and blue lines separating its polygonal panels.
A gold border surrounded the pointed shield. To the right of the red field containing the initials, lion, and ball were 3 vertical stripes of different widths. A blue stripe ran between 2 white ones.
1976 – 1977
In the 1976/77 season, Olympique Lyonnais first used an emblem with the monogram and lion side by side on an open background. The shield and soccer ball were removed. The OL initials stood on the left, with a red lion on the right, its paws raised and its long tail curved.
The letters had blue outlines and white interiors. A round “O” intersected with a tall, rectangular “L” to form the monogram. Open space surrounded the letters and the animal.
1977 – 1980
In 1977, the soccer ball returned to Olympique Lyonnais’ emblem, and the monogram’s proportions changed. The “O” diameter shrank, and the “L” vertical stroke shortened to a third of its previous length. The blue initials became more compact and sat near the red lion’s forepaws.
The lion’s proportions also changed, giving it a squat shape while retaining its long tail. A black-and-white ball with pentagonal and hexagonal panels appeared beneath its hind paws. Thick gold outlines surrounded the letters, lion, and ball, uniting the emblem’s 3 components. This version remained in use until 1980.
1980 – 1989
The soccer ball was redrawn in Olympique Lyonnais’ 1980 emblem. Broad white bands with thin blue outlines replaced the polygonal panels. The curved lines resembled the seams of an old leather ball. The monogram, lion, and ball retained their arrangement, while the gold outlines were removed.
The initials received a solid blue-violet fill. The red lion was simplified, with broad, rounded shapes defining its head, body, and paws. Its tail rose in a tall loop. The club used this emblem until 1989.
1989 – 1996
At Jean-Michel Aulas’ initiative, Olympique Lyonnais adopted an emblem centered on the club’s initials in 1989. He introduced the update 2 years after taking charge. Large white OL letters replaced the lion and ball. Thick black outlines and a rightward shadow gave the letters depth. The corners of the “O” were clipped, making its outer contour an octagon.
Two V-shaped stripes crossed both letters. Red sat above blue, preserving the club’s colors within the initials. The same pattern appeared on the players’ jerseys, connecting the uniforms to the logo. The club used the emblem until 1996.
1996 – 2006
The shield and lion returned to Olympique Lyonnais’ emblem in 1996, recalling the design used from 1974 to 1976. The club’s full name was added to the heraldic structure. OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS appeared on 2 lines inside a red rectangle at the top, set in gold uppercase sans-serif letters.
The blue lower field contained large white OL initials with gold edging. The “O” formed an oval medallion with a gold lion inside. A heavy “L” stood to its right. A horizontal band separated the initials from the full name. At the same time, a gold outer line followed the shield’s shape and its pointed base.
2006 – 2022
In 2006, the OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS lettering on the club emblem changed to white. The name retained its compact, upright letterforms and 2-line arrangement on the red upper field. Its color now matched the initials in the lower part of the shield.
The “O” and “L” shrank, and the emblem’s colors darkened. Gold borders remained around the oval medallion, the “L,” and the entire shield. The club used this version until the 2022 update.
2022 – today
Olympique Lyonnais’ emblem was adapted for digital use in an update unveiled in late June 2022. A Paris agency carried out the work. The shield’s red and blue became richer, spacing between the components increased, and the outer contour was adjusted.
The club’s full name was set in Trenda, a geometric sans-serif typeface Daniel Hernández and Paula Nazal Selaive created for Latinotype. The white lettering retained its 2-line arrangement. The interior spaces of rounded letters were enlarged.
Gold outlines around the white medallion and the “L” were removed. The horizontal band between the fields became white, and white edging was added along the outer gold border to separate it from colored backgrounds. The gold lion remained inside the medallion, preserving the emblem’s connection to Lyon’s heraldry. Its silhouette was refined by reducing small projections in the mane and reshaping the face.
Font and Colors
The lion depicted in almost all Olympique Lyonnais graphic signs closely resembles the lion on the Lyon flag and coat of arms. This is no coincidence: the club’s founders wanted to show its close connection to the city by using the famous heraldic symbol.
The logo’s creators chose a standard sans-serif font. It has neither serifs nor decorative elements. The letters look strict, with uniformly thick strokes.
The color selection received a little more attention. The designers combined red (#DA0812), blue (#14387F), white (#FFFFFF), and gold (#D29D46) to achieve visual harmony.