Real Madrid Logo History: Every Crest and Its Colors

This page traces every crest Real Madrid has worn, from the 1902 monogram through a republic and back to the crown, with each era’s colors as one-click hex values.

The monogram of M, C and F has hardly changed since 1902, but everything around it tracks a change in Spain.

The crown came off in 1931 when the Republic abolished the monarchy and went back on in 1941.

Today it runs on purple/violet band, blue and white: #0453A0 #203E61 #FFFFFF. For RGB, CMYK and Pantone, see the current Real Madrid color codes.

Real Madrid CF logo history timeline

1902-1908

Real Madrid CF logo 1902-1908

Real Madrid CF crest, 1902-1908. Via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

First badge on founding as Madrid Foot-ball Club: interlaced initials M, C and F in a monogram, no surrounding circle and no crown.

1908-1920

Real Madrid CF logo 1908-1920

Real Madrid CF crest, 1908-1920. Via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; also tagged PD-textlogo (below threshold of originality).

The MCF monogram was restyled and enclosed in a circle for the first time, establishing the basic layout still used today; still no crown, since the 'Real' title had not yet been granted.

Why it changed: Typographic modernization of the original 1902 monogram.

1920-1931

Real Madrid CF logo 1920-1931

Real Madrid CF crest, 1920-1931. Via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

A royal crown was added above the circular MCF monogram after King Alfonso XIII granted the club the title 'Real' (Royal) on 29 June 1920.

Why it changed: Royal warrant granting the 'Real' title permitted use of the royal crown.

1931-1941 (approximate)

Real Madrid CF logo 1931-1941

Real Madrid CF crest, 1931-1941. Via Wikimedia Commons, PD-textlogo (below threshold of originality; trademark restrictions still apply).

With the Second Spanish Republic (from 14 April 1931), the club lost the 'Real' title and the crown was removed, reverting to Madrid F.C.; sources place a purple/violet diagonal band representing Castile in the crest around this period, though the exact year it entered the badge (vs. the shirt) is inconsistently dated across sources.

Why it changed: Abolition of monarchical symbols under the Second Spanish Republic.

1941-2001

Real Madrid CF logo 1941-2001

Real Madrid CF crest, 1941-2001. Via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

On 1 January 1941, after the Spanish Civil War, the club restored the name Real Madrid Club de Fútbol and returned the royal crown to its crest, stabilizing the design for six decades.

Why it changed: Restoration of the monarchist title and crown under the Franco regime.

2001-present

Real Madrid CF logo 2001-present

Real Madrid CF crest, 2001-present. Club trademark, shown to identify the logo of that period.

A corporate modernization retouched the crest for branding use: the M was enlarged and thickened with a blue outline, the Castile band shortened, and the crown repositioned slightly above the ring.

Why it changed: Club's conversion into a corporate sports entity required a logotype suited to commercial/brand use.

2014-2017 (licensed products only, Gulf markets) (approximate)

Real Madrid CF logo 2014-2017 (licensed products only, Gulf markets)

Real Madrid CF crest, 2014-2017 (licensed products only, Gulf markets). Club trademark, shown to identify the logo of that period.

Not a change to the official global crest: on a National Bank of Abu Dhabi-sponsored credit/membership card unveiled in 2014, and later on some Marka-made licensed clothing sold in Gulf countries, the small cross atop the crown was omitted. Official jerseys worldwide, including in the Gulf, kept the cross.

Why it changed: Per Spanish outlet Marca, done to avoid offending Muslim fans/customers in the region for this specific licensed product; confirmed by ESPN/Goal/Bleacher Report coverage.

Real Madrid CF logo colors by era

Era	Colors
1902-1908	Dark blue `#003366` White `#FFFFFF`
1908-1920	Blue `#003366` White `#FFFFFF`
1920-1931	Blue `#003366` White `#FFFFFF`
1931-1941	Purple/violet `#745590`* White `#FFFFFF`
1941-2001	Purple/violet band `#8081BC` Blue `#003366` White `#FFFFFF`
2001-present	Purple/violet band `#004996` Blue `#2C5F86` White `#FFFFFF`
2014-2017 (licensed products only, Gulf markets)	Purple/violet band `#0453A0` Blue `#203E61` White `#FFFFFF`

Things worth knowing

The crown was added in 1920 when Alfonso XIII granted the 'Real' title, not 1908 as sometimes misstated; 1908 only added the surrounding circle to the monogram.
The crown and 'Real' name were officially stripped (reverting to plain Madrid F.C.) between 1931 and 1941 under the Second Spanish Republic, then restored under Franco.
Since 2014, some Gulf-market licensed Real Madrid merchandise (a UAE bank card, later clothing) has depicted the crest without the cross atop the crown, purely for that product line; standard jerseys everywhere retained the cross.
The purple/violet Castile band's exact origin year in the crest itself (as opposed to shirt colours) is not consistently dated across sources.

Values marked * were measured from the logo artwork of that period. Brand color standards did not exist for most of these eras, so no official hex value was ever published for them. Treat them as an accurate reading of the artwork rather than as an official brand value. Unmarked values are the club’s own published colors.