A Measured Ranking of the 20 Premier League Badges for 2025/26

Club badges are more than decoration; they are shorthand for history, local industry, myth and supporter attachment. This piece assesses the 20 Premier League crests in 2025/26, from the spare to the storied.

Some designs favour minimalism. Brighton once embraced “The Dolphins” but moved to a simpler predator motif, a flying shape that dominates a pared-back badge. Fulham’s emblem is essentially initials, and many fans only later realise the red silhouette simply spells out “FFC”. At the other end of the spectrum, a handful of badges lean heavily on historical reference. Aston Villa’s star, reinstated after the 2023–24 redesign didn’t catch on, commemorates the European Cup win in 1982. Nottingham Forest’s return to a 1970s aesthetic feels like a conscious nod to past glory.

Colour and execution matter. Burnley’s 2023 update left the underlying crest unchanged while swapping yellow, gold and black for a purple-and-white palette. Manchester City offered a faithful modernisation of a classic badge, but it also started a wave of imitators. Brentford’s compact, high-contrast crest uses red, white and black with a prominent bee to striking effect.

Some badges register as awkward experiments. Chelsea’s current badge is described here as an attempt to recreate a historical mark, a look that divides opinion and invites talk of further rebranding under Todd Boehly. Wolves and others lean on simplified shapes that risk appearing generic. “If you didn’t use a logo pack on Football Manager from 2009 to 2014, this is what your unlicensed team’s crest looked like.”

Certain designs combine elegance with durability. Tottenham’s thin-line cockerel retains a refined quality even if it scales delicately in graphics. Everton’s post-2013 recovery produced a near-perfect emblem. Leeds uses a balanced shield, blue-and-yellow scheme and a central Yorkshire Rose to good effect. Crystal Palace pairs an imposing eagle with the iconic building, albeit at an unrealistic scale.

Badges can be sentimental as well as practical. Sunderland’s crest offers layered local references and considered composition, while Nottingham Forest and others wear their histories visibly. Across the division, the best crests are those that balance clarity, heritage and a visual identity supporters can rally behind.