When you think of La Liga and European juggernaut Barcelona, what comes to mind is the shaping of one of the best players to ever grace the beautiful game in Lionel Messi, their bloated trophy cabinet and their enviable fan base, who are loyal to the core.
What typically slips the minds of supporters, and what shouldn’t be misconstrued as the England flag, is that Barcelona’s badge includes the symbol which represents that of St George’s Cross – but why is that included in the famous crest?
In their long and storied history, the club have only homed three British players – Steve Archibald, Gary Lineker and Mark Hughes – but every time a player steps out onto the pitch in Barcelona colours, they have adorned a piece of English heritage.
Since the club’s inception on 29 November 1899, the Barcelona badge has undergone plenty of changes – but since the 1910s, when they won three Copa del Rey trophies between 1910 and 1913, the overall appearance has remained similar with the odd alteration.
In the top right corner, the flag of Barcelona incorporates the red and yellow stripes of the Senyera, a flag based on the coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon, a Medieval kingdom in north-eastern Spain. Next to that, there is a red cross over a white background and, as alluded to, it’s actually St George’s Cross.
St George is known as a heroic miliary saint and a crusader and, since the early modern period, his cross has become the national flag of England. Not only is he the patron saint for England, but for Catalonia, too, where he is known as St Jordi.
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Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, Diego Maradona and Ronaldo Nazario all feature among Barcelona’s greatest ever players.
St George (Jordi) is also celebrated in Barcelona on April 23 – St George’s Day or known as La Diada de Sant Jordi – and is the Catalonia-based version of Valentine’s Day. Particularly notable were his acts of heroism, when he famously killed a mythical dragon in order to save a damsel in distress, in Catalonia.
To explain the blue and garnet colouring, which has become synonymous with La Blaugrana over the years, were chosen by founder Joan Gamper because they were the colours of Basel, a team he had played for during his infancy in Switzerland.