Fans are just realising why Barcelona’s badge has St George’s cross on it and the bizarre reason they wear red and blue
JUST three British players have ever featured for Barcelona.
Yet a famous piece of England takes the field with the Spanish giants every time they play.
And many fans will be surprised to realise just why the Barca badge includes the St George Cross.
The red cross on a white background is of course the basis for the flag of England.
But St George is also the patron saint of Georgia and… Catalonia, where he is known as Saint Jordi.
The reason, however, for Barcelona‘s iconic red and blue colours is less saintly.
It’s all down to Joan Gamper, the club’s founding president in 1899.
Gamper, from Switzerland, also set up FC Zurich and supported home-country team FC Basel.
So he simply adopted Basel’s colours for Barcelona.
It’s the badge, though, that might intrigue British supporters most.
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And that symbol is a touch ironic when you consider the incredibly low number of footballers who have swapped the UK for Barca.
Terry Venables, who later bossed Tottenham and England, signed the first of the trio, Steve Archibald from Spurs, in 1984.
The Scotland striker won LaLiga in the first of his four seasons at the Nou Camp.
Next came Gary Lineker from Everton and Manchester United‘s Mark Hughes, both in the summer of 1986.
Lineker bagged 21 goals in his first term, including a hat-trick against Real Madrid.
But the England hero was sold to Tottenham in 1989 after struggling once Johan Cruyff became Barca manager.
And Wales frontman Hughes lasted just one campaign at Barca before a season on loan at Bayern Munich and a return to Old Trafford.