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Atlético Madrid return to historic crest after fan backlash

Atlético Madrid announced they will return to using the club's 1947 crest from July 1 following widespread criticism of the updated badge.

The Rojiblancos' decision to modernise the emblem in 2017 proved very unpopular with nearly 78,000 of the more than 138,000 club members voting last year to bring back the previous emblem.

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While both designs are similar, the modern emblem sees the bear is facing right instead of left while it is stretching up against a tree (the symbol of the city of Madrid), the four red stripes are thicker, there are smoothed out edges and there are three colours instead of six.

Some Atlético fans refused to buy merchandise with the new badge.

"The club pays special tribute to the thousands of enthusiasts who longed for the return of the 1947 crest," an Atlético statement said.

"As of July 1, 2024, the official return of the club's crest will take place. The transformation process is challenging and is expected to take a few months to fully implement but it is already showing up in the most iconic places."

Atlético also shared a video on their official social media channels re-unveiling the original badge, with the closing caption: "Sometimes the heart has reasons that marketing can't understand."

The club said the soon-to-be jettisoned logo "will now become part of the family of crests and emblems that have depicted our club over the course of our history."